#just felt like drawing bulgaria today

[roran01]

Bass but the 'b' is silent...

[startanewdream]

prompt 24 - at a sporting event

Written for @jilytoberfest! Set after the 1994 Quidditch World Cup Final.

Read on AO3 or below:

________________

“I can’t believe it!”

Lily throws an amused look at James. This is one of the nights he looks adorably young, his excited boyish face reminding her of when he was sixteen, coming back from one of his own Quidditch matches.

“I know,” she agrees, grinning, drinking from her mug. “Krum got the Snitch—”

“No, no, I mean the Irish chasers! I knew they were good, but seeing it like that… They were amazing! Who cares about the seeker?”

“Don’t let Harry hear you,” Lily notes.

James shrugs, unconcerned, his smile unaltered. “Nah, I’ve told him over and over that chasing is much more fun than seeking.”

“That’s the kind of comment that set you off into hours of discussion—”

“And besides, why are we talking about him?” James pulls her into his lap, his hand around her waist, brushing her arm with a familiarity that speaks of how he knows this will make goosebumps emerge on her skin. “Isn’t this our night alone?”

“Oh, that’s why you let him stay with the Weasleys?” Lily asks in a faked surprise voice, her fingers tracing his jawline, feeling his unshaved beard.

“He got happy, I got happy…”

“What about me?”

“I’ll make you happy in a few minutes, don’t worry.”

Lily laughs, the sound coming out with a mix of amusement and excitement that James can interpret easily. He slides his lips over her neck, drawing a soft purr from her throat.

“It’s been so long since we had a date.”

“We have the place for us about nine months in the year, James.”

“You know what I mean. You, me, camping under the stairs, all alone…”

“Hey, hey, you are burning my eyes!”

James sighs exaggeratedly, exchanging a look with Lily before turning to the newcomer.

“Excellent timing as always, Padfoot.”

“You know me, Prongs, I can smell when you’re about to have sex.”

“Please don’t,” Lily says, shaking her head and disentangling herself from James so she can sit next to him. “Shouldn’t you be working tonight?”

“I am on my workbreak,” Sirius answers, letting himself fall into one of the pillows in front of the bonfire. “Thought it was a while since I cockblocked you, so here I came.”

“Remind me why we are friends again?”

“James and I are a package, Lily, you knew that when you started dating him.”

“The worst part is that yes, I knew it.” Lily winks at James, grinning at him, before she turns to Sirius. “Hot chocolate?”

Sirius eyes her knowingly. “With cognac?”

“Not for you, you are on duty tonight.”

“Oh, the inglorious side of being an Auror,” he sighs heavily, but accepts the mug she offers him.

“How is your shift?” James asks, throwing his arm around Lily’s shoulder. She lays her head on his chest.

“Boring. Mostly breaking apart drunk discussions. It will be like that all night.”

“Better than the alternative,” Lily says, not hiding her grimace. Events like this one always make everyone more tense than usual, and that’s hardly the only event that will happen in the country that year.

“Yeah, of course.” Sirius shrugs. “Where is Harry? He owes me two galleons.”

“Were you betting again?”

“Don’t act all stern, Lily, that was just a healthy dose of gambling. He bet on Bulgaria.”

“Against the Irish chasers?” James asks incredulously. “Haven’t I taught him anything about Quidditch?”

“Oh, boy, here we go again,” Lily mumbles to herself, just as Sirius starts venting about the qualities of the Bulgarian seeker and how far Bulgaria had gone in that Quidditch World Cup.

She lets her mind loose. Lily enjoys Quidditch as much as the next one, but only if assuming that the next one isn’t as obsessed with it as James and Harry are. She likes watching it, cheering for a team, even playing it sometimes, but that’s it.

She had fun today, though. The match was exciting, and all this little trip to watch the final felt like some adventure they hadn’t done in a while. She is glad that she let James talk her into coming with them. And as soon as Sirius departs, she hopes she and James can enjoy the fact that they are at the edge of the campsite, far from all the crowd, and that their tent has an enchanted ceiling that shows the night sky…

“Oh, keep your knickers on, will you?”

Lily blinks. Sirius is watching her with a fake disapproval look.

“What?”

“You were having indecent thoughts about my mate here. Don’t deny it,” he warns, when Lily opens her mouth. “I know your expressions by now, Lily.”

“I was going to say they weren’t indecent,” Lly says with dignity. “We are married, which means all my sex thoughts are decent.”

James laughs.

“I’m guessing that’s your cue, Sirius,” he says, kissing Lily’s forehead. “Or else we might repeat that unfortunate incident of the Spring of 1978.”

“Please, don’t.” Sirius shudders, standing up at once. “I still have nightmares about it.”

“It’s been over 16 years, come on.”

“That’s how much you scared me.” Sirius winks at him. “Well, I guess telling the Irish they’ve got to stop celebrating is better than getting another trauma.”

“Good luck with that,” James says, earning him a good-naturedly finger gesture from Sirius.

“Hey!” Lily gives him her best motherly glare. “I was going to call you to join us for breakfast tomorrow morning.”

“Lily, Lily. If I don’t find myself a Bulgarian to comfort until the night is over, I’ll be sorely disappointed with myself.”

“See, Padfoot? That’s indecent.”

Sirius gives them his best barking laugh, vanishing back to the more crowded areas, where the singing and banging are coming from.

“So, where were we?” James asks, the second that Sirius vanishes from sight, grinning. Lily places herself back on to his lap.

“I think I was right here. And we were talking about making me happy?”

“Hmm. I’m told I’m good at this.”

“Sixteen years and counting,” Lily agrees, brushing her lips against his; James slips his tongue inside her mouth and she lets out a soft moan that works to encourage him even further, his hand fumbling with her shirt so he can feel her skin, slide his hand over her back.

“Let’s go inside,” he mumbles against her lips after several long minutes.

Everything else seems to be far away; the crowd seems even more distant, their sounds mingling together but Lily can’t really think about anything else than enjoying this night with her husband. Her heart is pounding fast on her chest, falling into that familiar rhythm that she associates with being with James, when she pulls him up. They are almost inside the tent when the night sky is illuminated by green.

Fireworks, she thinks for a hopeful blind moment.

[artzyleen]

My meet and greet experience with Joe ~

One week ago today 9th of July ,2022 I took this video while waiting for my turn to meet & greet him...I will never forget that shaking nervous feeling while me and my friend @lexie_lui slowly approaching his table, having on and off mini panic attacks while deciding who shall talk to him 1st ..

I constantly had to drink water every 5 min, my mouth was super dry from all the exitment ..4 people Infront of us..oh god ..no idea at this point what is reality, 3 ppl..I see him talking to the guys Infront of us , he is so close...all of a sudden I catch him doing that random sticking his tongue thing when he is concentrating , I turn to my friend hiding my face with the fan project book in order for him not to see my face,and I tell my friend that he just did the tongue thing 😝 ,she looks at me with shocked and exited face ...2 ppl left , me and my friend look each other ..

at this point we are both silently freaking out and agree that I go first...1 person left Infront of me..my heart is pounding, I can almost hear myself screaming ...for a split sec I tell his assistant to write my name for the autograph ... The last person is gone ..

..and now is my turn..I'm trying casually to slide right Infront of him, first thing goes out of my mouth is 'Hiii, how are you today ,how are you managing this crowd?' he goes smilling 'Hey ,so far so good ,how are you?'..and then my mouth starts speaking faster than me brain

... I took my time explaining what massive impact he has on us, it felt time was frozen for me and now was mu chance to tell him all of my emotions ..my mouth was so dry but I managed to say most of the exact words I was thinking of how much he inspires me as an artist, and that I'm super exited for his future projects and that we all follow him along the way

He was looking at me straight in the eyes and listening to every word I say, I kinda felt intimidating ,I'm usually shy talking to ppl I adore ,imagine what I felt while Joe was litterally listening to me so intensely ..I was swallowing my words a bit fast and had brain dead for couple of seconds , I was afraid he will get annoyed but no, it was fine, I felt that he kinda knew how nervous I was , all of a sudden he took my right hand and still looking at me said 'Thank you so much for your words, means a lot! '

I could feel his gratitude ,he was really touched! I said, 'It's all from my heart"

While he was signing the picture I picked up for the autograph he asked me where I travelled from, I said I came from Bristol, and he was like, OH cool! Then I had to show and explain him my small gift from my country Bulgaria, lol, he was actually touching it and check it out (was a magnet and small rose oil)

Then I showed him my drawing and he went 'Oh my God' and he did this crazy funny face expression like he was amazed, it was funny ha! Then finally I showed him the fan project book we all worked on ,(and he stood up from his chair ) I opened couple of the pages to show him what exactly this is ,all the fan appreciation of everything he does, I told him to read the messages whenever he has time for,he was really amazed and just said 'Wow'

Then he straight hugged me for about 4/5 seconds which I felt long enough ,not sure if he said anything but I remember him smelling like fresh clothes and then I just told him in his ear 'Thank you so much for everything '

I said I will remember this for the rest of my life, he said he hopes to see me again of there is another com, and I said I have 2 more photoshoots with him, ha, not sure if he heard that, then he said, "Really nice to meet you, see you soon "

After the meet and greet ,me and my friend went for the photoshoots ,we split cause I had to go first to the Upside down shoot and she went to take something to drink..on the Upside down shoot before my turn I quickly gave my bag pack and glasses to the assistant to hold, I went smilling saying 'Hiiii, he smiles back and goes Heey,nice to see you again! 💕😭 (I'm 99.99% sure he actually remembered me after that 5 min spill of my emotions on the meet nad greet table) I hug him and he does the rock sign 🤘🏻 and we took the photo...for a second the photographer checks back the camera ...

..me and him stay at the same position frozen thinking the photo went bad and we need to take another one, (he keeps me close to him while waiting ) all of sudden the photographer goes "Yeah, go,that's it" I look at him and say "Thank you,see you again!" He smiles back waving 💕 (I think he did say 'See ya')

After a while...I went for the Diamond photo shoot, massive crowd ahead, I see him right Infront of us ,looked super tired but still managing the rest of the massive crowd...my turn, I go there I ask him, "Are you ok?", he goes smilling, "Yeah I'm fine, how are you? " I hug him do the 1st pose(he immediately went for it doing again the rock sign 🤘🏻 ) second photo I get stuck for a second , don't know what pose to do

I look at him and he looks back at me, places his hands on his head with his devilish grin and says 'Yeah, that one ' I smile back and we both do the shoot with devil horns pose, and then I go looking at him ' Thank you so much, enjoy your day' and I slightly touched his belly area (I'm not even joking) he just smiles back super tired 😭💕 . In the end I felt so bad for him, me an my friend went back to the extit, before leaving I glanced at him one last time while he was doing pics with the rest of the ppl.. I feel he will never do this again! We got really lucky to meet him on his first ever con ..he felt super overwhelmed ..

In the end both of my friends had to go , I had one last photoshoot with Aiden Turner ..one last time I went to check Joe and his second afternoon meet and greet..he was again at the autograph table greeting ppl and smilling ...

I that's was it..I went to my other photoshoot knowing that Joe is litterally metres away from me ,so weird.. One of those experiences of a lifetime..I hope to meet him again someday but most of all I wish and I hope he can cope with this ridiculous massive fame he got going on,I'm super excited for all of his future projects and I'm definitely going to follow his journey for a long time 💕 nicest ,sweetest soul I've ever met!

[tvwriteups]

ESC 2021 GF

Opening was okay. Think that's the largest the stage has looked.

Watching on PeacockTV. No commentary. This time I'm watching through my speakers and not through headphones. Not gonna do a rundown since a lot of the songs are familiar.

I did not watch any of the big 5 or the Dutch rehearsal/jury videos so I'll be watching those whole for the first time. (I probably should have watched them. Oops. Too late now!)

I really have no idea who will win. Kind of makes it exciting!

What's a little weird with my setup is how much "sharper" the music sounds on my speakers.

Let the Grand Final of the ESC begin!

1. Cyprus

2. Albania

3. Israel

4. Belgium

What's funny for me here is that the Belgian song is growing on me on this third listen. I like it more each time. (This might actually make my Eurovision AND Hooverphonic playlist!) With the other songs I was... like I didn't feel the level of "excitement" I felt when I watched them earlier this week.

5. Russia

Oh yeah! This is another one I'm liking more on a second viewing. I like her expressiveness. This is never not interesting. And an enthusiastic response there.

6. Malta

Maltese Lizzo. I know this is very popular with the ESC crowd and I get it but it doesn't personally register with me. I think it's the speed. It's like the same fast speed and mostly same level of "noise." Crowd really loooooves it though. Might just be my own autistic sound processing issues.

7. Portugal

I still am impressed with how well-structured this is. I'll probably forget the song next week but when it was being performed I never lost interest.

8. Serbia

They seem so wholesome in their postcard. Hmm, singing doesn't sound as good on my speakers. This is like the first 3 songs for me.

And now a break.

Kind of sucks performing early because it hurts you with the vote but at least you get to sit back easy and watch the rest of the show.

I still feel very conflicted about how to feel about Junior ESC. Lots of pressure to put on children.

Jamala, Emmelie de Forest, Duncan Laurence on where they keep their awards... nope, Nikkie, I'm not gonna check out the live blog. I like the ESC but even I have to draw a line somewhere.

9. United Kingdom

First time watching. I don't understand these British songwriters who perform their own songs and yet... like, it doesn't sound ideally suited to their own voices. It was okay but it's another one I'll forget in a week.

10. Greece

Well, I didn't get to watch this properly the first time so here goes: I don't like the huge reliance on effects but it's BEHIND her so it's completely acceptable to me. I think this would've worked better for me if the dancing was "more [active?]" since it's a fast song about dancing.

The hosts briefly have to tell us something for some reason.

Hmm, apparently a lot of my sound issue is that the rear speakers are coming through louder.

11. Switzerland

This is playing much better for me today than it did the other day. The overall performance is better. I don't like the epilepsy-inducing light though. That's my only complaint. Well done!

12. Iceland

Well, literally the same exact performance we watched the other day but it was fun so... and my viewing experience is slightly different so... Hmm.. what I'm really feeling right now is a song placement thing. We went from intense to chill and that energy change is a bit much for me.

13. Spain

This song does not have a strong hook. I ... can't remember the song and it only just finished.

14. Moldova

I honestly don't think this song would've made it through the first SF. I just don't care for it. I think I spent most of the performance looking at the dancers when that was an option.

15. Germany

This feels like a cross between a Moldovan and a San Marino entry. I dunno, I enjoyed it. I wouldn't watch it again though.

I do also understand that part of watching this as an American is that I don't ever have to feel embarrassment that I'm being represented through any of these performances.

16. Finland

Now that I know that this is like this I'm totally not interested. I'd probably feel very differently if I was in the same space as these guys because it's a SHOW!

And another break. Oh, the broadcaster boxes. I always assume that they're going to harass Graham Norton but they're actually visiting the Danes right now. And the Russians.

Hosts talking about orchestras now.

17. Bulgaria

I remember this postcard from the other day because of the menagerie this girl has. This song is also growing on me. I was confused about the lyrics the other day but now am experiencing them as playful. Feeling the "production" of this one.

18. Lithuania

It's hard for me because I really liked "On Fire." I'm really enjoying this the second time and a really great, entertaining performance. And maybe it's in a better place during the night.

Hosts talking about the app. They're really hammering this whole "clap along" thing (which I haven't found on the app because I'm probably too old to care).

19. Ukraine

This song is a trip. Bangy-est banger of the night. You just never know.

20. France

You know, this comes off as something the juries would love to award. Damn, girl! You know, I wasn't impressed when they showed the short clip at the end of the SF. You really have to watch the whole thing.

21. Azerbaijan

Seems more appropriate to sing about Mata Hari than Cleopatra in the Netherlands when you think about it. It could be because I've already seen this before but I'm still processing France. There's also something about this staging that makes them look small on the stage to me.

22. Norway

I don't know why I find him adorable but I do. This song feels like a hug. (Or it's the "feathers." LOL)

Mini-break about what's upcoming.

23. The Netherlands

I was into it until the last 30 when it got really repetitive but that's still an overall like.

24. Italy

I really can't predict anything. I dig this but we've sort of filled a quota for intensity for the night.

25. Sweden

I'm just kind of like....of course Sweden has the Rijksmuseum postcard. It's like the most recognizable place in all of these postcards. And be near the end of the show. I'll be honest: I'm just predisposed to be against Sweden. Ugh, epilepsy light. I can't even look at the screen. Also, I liked Russia's "A Million Voices" in 2015. I'm guessing this song did not look like this at Melodifestivalen because it's really looking terrible on my tv. This is the worst visual presentation of the night.

26. San Marino

Honestly wondering how well San Marino is gonna finish this year. This felt more awesome the first time. Well, also Flo Rida delightfully surprised me the first time.

And how our hosts telling us about the importance of voting. I have no idea how these are going to pan out. I just know that if I was voting I think I'd throw my votes at Ukraine and France...while feeling bad that I'm not throwing some at Bulgaria, Iceland, Lithuania or Switzerland. (I also liked Russia but I wouldn't vote for them.) I mean, I liked Italy but... I don't know. I think I ran out of energy by then.

Really think it's that Ukraine and France just zapped my energy for energetic songs. The only one I felt after those was the hug of Norway. Or maybe Norway lulled me. LOL.

Would be interested in the televotes for some of these countries.

Recap. Ooof. France doesn't work in short recap clip.

"Music Binds Us"....because we've heard of Afrojack here. I swear every other major city has one of those bridges. I'd otherwise dig this but we've had so much intense music tonight.

I'm guessing we're listening to "Titanium" because Afrojack wrote and produced it.

I'm sitting here wondering if ANYONE is going to vote for the UK at all. Or, really, how many of the Big 5 are going to be in the Bottom 5.

Another recap.

Another Nikkie ESC Tutorial segment. This is actually kind of annoying.

And now a behind-the-scenes montage while the voting numbers are displayed at the bottom.

Catching up with past winners now.

ESC honoring itself again. Enjoying how much they're not overemphasizing the whole "in front of a live audience" stuff like they were doing the other nights.

Another recap.

Oddly, I think Moldova annoys me the most. It feels like the emptiest song in the final.

How quickly are they going to burn through the votes. It's already feeling like this show is long.

65th anniversary stuff. Rock the Roof. Måns again. I don't like this song. I think 2015 was a great overall year (even if I was able to predict the top 10 (except for Latvia) but I still listen to a lot of songs from that year... just not "Heroes." I resent that I have to hear it every year now.

Teach-In....because Dutch and because we need a song with 'Ding" and "Dong" in it.

SANDRA KIM!!!!!!!! Forever the youngest winner of this contest.

Lenny Kuhr.

Helena Paparizou. LOL, totally sticking to the choreo.

Lordi. Probably had to choose their roof first to get the permission to shoot the pyro off it.

So are they saving Duncan Laurence for when they calculate the votes? It feels like the voting window has been open forever now. I keep looking for a countdown clock.

This sounds like a way of saying Duncan Laurence has tested positive for COVID without saying that he tested positive for COVID.

Are they emphasizing that the Netherlands is below sea level?

New song... I'll take anything as long as it's not "Nana Banana."

The voting still isn't closed!

Oh, they have a special countdown dance is why. How very Paparizou of them.

Oh, that weird part where they banter with the delegations.

Malta. Just Malta?

Martin Österdahl. Because Swedes. Jury time. I forgot that revealing votes this way eliminates the performances during the vote calculation. They calculate the televote during the jury stuff.

Jury Votes

Israel, the least popular child in the room right now gives their 12 points to Switzerland.

Poland goes to San Marino.

San Marino goes to France.

Albania to Switzerland.

Malta to Albania.

These are going all over the place. But then it's juries.

Estonia's 12 to Switzerland.

Switzerland and France popular with juries so far.

North Macedonia to Serbia.

Recap. Switzerland, France and Italy in the Top 3.

Els and Nikki or however you spell their names. Azerbaijan throws their points at Russia of course.

Norway to....Malta.

Spain to France.

Austria to Iceland.

Ooof, UK, Spain and Norway totally blanked right now.

The UK....with Amanda Holden...and 12 points for France.

Italy gives its 12 points to Lithuania. No points for Switzerland from them!

Now it's just the UK blank.

Slovenia to Italy.

Juries don't like Ukraine. :-(

Greece...making us try not to boo by having a child tell us that the points are going to Cyprus.

Latvia with Aminata of course. 12 points go to Switzerland.

Ireland to France.

Moldova epic saxing us. Epic saxing Bulgaria too.

Serbia to France.

Bulgaria to Moldova. Ugh.

Cyprus ...should've used a child. Even the crowd is all "Greece, duh."

Belgium to Switzerland. It's almost like they have something against France, LOL.

Banter with Switzerland. Banter with France. No cringe. Practically no cringe in these interviews. They're adorable.

On a side note, my HVAC is dying on a 90 degree day.

Germany to France.

UK still sitting on a jury egg.

Australia to Malta.

Finland to Switzerland.

Portugal to Bulgaria.

Ukraine to Italy. Love the 0 points to Russia there.

Iceland. LOL. LOL. LOL. Of course a "Jaja Ding Dong" reference. Switzerland for them.

Romania to Malta.

Without televotes this stuff is almost meaningless. I can't imagine France getting the televotes.

Croatia to Italy.

Czech Republic to...like who would they.. oh Portugal. Of course. LOL.

Georgia to Italy.

Lithuania to Ukraine.

Denmark to Switzerland.

Top 5: Switzerland, France, Malta, Italy and Iceland.

"A Million Voices" Polina telling us Russia is giving their points to Moldova. Lots of side-eye from me.

France can't give points to themself so.... Greece. I... I... don't know.

Sweden with Carola. OMG Carola....why so much talking? Did she take something? Or drink something? She's on something. Gives their points to Malta.

Switzerland gives point to France. Most anticlimatic points reveal.

The Netherlands gives its points to France.

UK with ZERO points from juries.

Switzerland, France, Malta, Italy, Iceland.

We don't see the jury performances so...like... I dunno.

Gonna waste time in the Green Room again before the televote reveal. Talking with Switzerland... meaning that Gjon gets to replace John Lundvik as the face of losing if they don't get enough votes.

TELEVOTE TIME!

I hope this goes fast. And they're revealing these in the order of jury votes, least to most. So maybe a different face of losing.

UK with 0 points. OUCH! And they didn't genocide anyone this year! James Newman being a sport.

Germany with 0 points.

Spain with 0 points.

Netherlands with 0 points.

LMAO. I don't think I've ever seen this.

Norway with 60 points.

Serbia with 82 points.

Albania with 35 points.

Azerbaijan with 33 points.

San Marino with 13 points...even with Flo Rida!!!

Sweden with 63 points?

Cyprus with 44 points.

Moldova with 62 points.

Lithuania with 165 points!!!

Belgium with 3 points. Hooverphonic with only 3 points. Better than zero. But totally a jury thing their SF result was.

20 points to Israel.

Finland with 218. Shocker that. For me. Not the public, of course. Now in first.

Greece with 79 points.

Ukraine with 267. Into the lead.

Russia with 100 points.

Portugal with 27.

Bulgaria with 30 points.

Iceland with 180 points...and in 1st.

Italy with 318 points.

Malta with 47 points.

France with 251 points. Into 2nd.

Switzerland with 160 points.

Winner is Italy. So Switzerland is the new face of losing.

Televote alone it's Italy, Ukraine, France, Finland, Iceland, Lithuania, Switzerland, and Russia with 100 or more points. Serbia and Greece rounding out the top 10 in televote.

Surprised and delighted that the public gave all those votes to France. I was not expecting that at all.

In the breakdowns I really would like to see if their are any public correlations between folks who votes Italy/Finland or France/Switzerland.

[thelastdiadoch]

KING COTYS IV OF ODRYSIA (THRACIAN) AND THE THIRD MACEDONIAN WAR (171-168 BCE) AGAINST ROME

This is an excerpt from my post, ‘THRACIANS, REAPERS OF THE BALKANS’.

The Macedonians and Romans clashed in two major conflicts known as the First and Second Macedonian Wars. The Thracians were divided with some of the more “wild” tribes siding with the Romans in 172 BCE while the more “civilized” Odrysians under their king, Cotys IV, sided with the Macedonians.

“Cotys was a man of distinguished appearance and of great ability in military affairs, and besides, quite unlike a Thracian in character. For he was of sober habits, and gave evidence of a gentleness of temper and a steadiness of disposition worthy of a man of gentle birth.” – Histories by Polybius, 27.12.

“Cotys, king of the Thracians, was a man who in matters of warfare moved with vigor and was superior in judgement, and who in other respects as well was responsible and deserving of friendship. He was abstinent and circumspect in the highest degree, and most important of all, was completely exempt from the besetting vices of the Thracian people.” – The Library of History by Diodorus Siculus, 30.3.1.

Battle or Kallinikos (171 BCE):

When the Third Macedonian War (171-168 BC) broke out between Rome and Macedon the Odrysians proved to be valuable assets as they were instrumental in the Battle of Kallinikos (171 BCE). Cotys IV formed the Macedonian king’s left wing with his army of Thracian cavalrymen and light infantrymen, after the initial ranged skirmish “the Thracians, like wild beasts kept in cages and suddenly released, set up a deafening roar and charged the Italian cavalry on the right wing with such fury that, in spite of their experience of war and their native fearlessness, they threw them into disorder. [3] The infantry on both sides snapped the lances of the cavalry with their swords, cut at the legs of the horses and stabbed them in the flanks” (Livy, 42.59.2-3). 

In the end the battle resulted in a stalemate but it is seen as a Macedonian victory since they only lost 20 cavalrymen and 40 infantry while the Romans lost 200 cavalrymen, 2000 infantrymen, and 600 other were imprisoned.

“On their return to camp the victors were all in high spirits, but the Thracians surpassed all in the insolence of their joy. They returned to camp singing and carrying the heads of their enemies fixed on their spears.” – The History of Romeby Titus Livius (Livy), 42.60.2.

^ Osprey – ‘Men-at-Arms’ series, issue 360 – The Thracians, 700 BC-AD 46 by Christopher Webber and Angus McBride (Illustrator). Plate F: The Kallinikos Skirmish, 171 BC – “Livy says that the victorious Thracian troops returned to their camp swaggering singing and dancing, with severed Roman heads on their rhomphaias as trophies.” F1: Thracian infantryman – “He has the late 4th century shield, Chalkidian helmet, and greaves found in the Dolna Koznitza mound near Kyustendil, together with a rhomphaia and the black tunic described by Plutarch. The Thracians at Pydna may have looked like this, as they are described with ‘glittering’ shields and black tunics. Alternatively, this bronze-faced shield may be a parade piece – instead he might carry an ordinary white thureos.” F2: Thracian slinger– “There are only rare mentions and no known depictions of Thracian slingers, and this reconstruction is based on an auxiliary slinger from Trajan’s Column.” F3: Thracian infantryman – “This figure is shown in the clothes worn by a hunter in the Alexandrovo tomb paintings, and armor and equipment found together in the Blagoevgrads region of Bulgaria: bronze Thracian helmet, bronze greaves, three bronze torques, and an iron rhomphaia. They are dated to around the end of the 4th century. He carries an oval thureos like those shown in the Kazanluk tomb paintings. The rhomphaia had a large ring in the centre, which could have been used for a carrying strap.”

Battle of Pydna (168 BCE):

After aiding the Macedonians Cotys IV had to return to his realm since it was invaded by a rival Thracian king named Autlesbis who was backed by the Attalid (Attalid dynasty of Pergamon, an ally of Rome) officer Corragus. After these troubles in Thrace were quelled by the Thraco-Macedonian alliance, Cotys returned to the side of the Macedonians where he would once again aid them against the Romans at the famed Battle of Pydna in 168 BCE. The night before the battle that would decide the fate of Macedon and Thrace there was a lunar eclipse which according to Plutarch was believed by the Macedonians to foreshadow the fall of the Macedonian king.

“[7] Now, when night had come, and the soldiers, after supper, were betaking themselves to rest and sleep, on a sudden the moon, which was full and high in the heavens, grew dark, lost its light, took on all sorts of colors in succession, and finally disappeared. [8] The Romans, according to their custom, tried to call her light back by the clashing of bronze utensils and by holding up many blazing fire-brands and torches towards the heavens; the Macedonians, however, did nothing of this sort, but amazement and terror possessed their camp, and a rumor quietly spread among many of them that the portent signified an eclipse of a king.” – The Parallel Lives (The Life of Aemilius Paulus) by Plutarch, 17.7-8.

How the battle commenced on the next day varies but I’ll just mention the one which gives the Thracians a more prominent role. A Roman mule broke for the nearby river which divided the two armies and from which both drank. When three Roman soldiers went to retrieve it they saw two Thracian soldiers drawing the mule onto their side of the river. The Romans crossed the river, killed one of the Thracians and reclaimed the mule. A group of 800 Thracians who were guarding the bank witnessed the slaying of their comrade so “[9] enraged at seeing a comrade killed before their eyes, ran across the river in pursuit of those who slew him; [10] then more joined in and at last the whole body” (History of Rome by Livy, 44.40.9-10).

“First the Thracians advanced, whose appearance, Nasica says, was most terrible, — men of lofty stature, clad in tunics which showed black beneath the white and gleaming armor of their shields and greaves, and tossing high on their right shoulders battle-axes with heavy iron heads.” – The Parallel Lives (The Life of Aemilius Paulus) by Plutarch, 18.3 or 5.

From this engagement the battle had commenced. The Macedonians lost decisively as their infantrymen crumbled “to pieces like a falling house” (Livy, 44.41) which led the Macedonian and Odrysian kings fleeing the field with their cavalrymen. The Roman pursuit was hampered by their massacring of the enemy infantrymen.

“It is universally admitted that never had so many Macedonians been killed by the Romans in a single battle. As many as 20,000 men perished; 6000 who had fled to Pydna fell into the enemy’s hands, and 5000 were made prisoners in their flight.” – The History of Rome by Titus Livius (Livy), 44.42.7.

For the most part, the Third Macedonian War ended after this battle. King Perseus of Macedon eventually gave himself up to the Romans who paraded him in chains as their captive during the triumph celebrating their victory over Macedon. Perseus was placed under house arrest until his death shortly after. The Antigonid dynasty which was founded by Alexander’s diadoch Antigonus I Monophthalmus back in 306 BCE reached its end with Perseus of Macedon.

^ Perseus surrenders to Paullus by Jean-François Pierre Peyron (1802).

Cotys IV also felt the bitter sting of defeat when the Romans took his son captive along with Perseus and the latter’s family, sending them off to Italy. With Macedon subdued and his son held captive, Cotys made this wise decision to accept the new power shift by sending an embassy to the Romans asking for an alliance with the Romans and the return of his son.

The Macedonians once again rose up in rebellion under a pretender named Andriscus. In the end, the fourth and final Macedonian War was won by the Romans and resulted in the subjugation of Macedon in 148 BCE. Two years later the Romans establishment of the Roman province of Macedonia which encompassed Macedonia, Thessaly, Epirus and Paeonia as well as southwestern Thrace, and coastal and southern Illyria. The Thracians however, along with their Celtic and Illyrian neighbors, continued to harass the new Roman possessions.

After the Macedonian Wars, the Thracians are mentioned less and less until they eventually faded back into the shadows of history. Today few have ever heard of the Thracians and even less know much about them. These “barbarians” who lived on the edges of the “civilized” world of the Greeks and Macedonians made a name for themselves nonetheless. The mere mention of them conjured up thoughts of a foreign, savage, and brutal society of warriors bent on plunder and revelry. They were reviled and feared but were admired for their brave and hardy nature and eagerly sought after by kings and commanders. In the end, the Thracians were victims of a history written by their enemies and outsiders. Let us not forget that the Thracians inspired the use of the pelte shield and the light infantrymen known as peltasts, their caps inspired the Phrygian/Thracian helmets created by the Greeks and Macedonians, supposedly inspired the Athenian general Iphicrates’ reforms, invented the cavalry wedge formation implemented by Philip II and his son Alexander the Great and revolutionized the religious practices and beliefs of the classical Greek and Hellenistic world.

Head over to my post, ‘THRACIANS, REAPERS OF THE BALKANS’, to learn about their culture, religion, weaponry, armors, battle tactics, and their influence on the ancient world. Their history as well, from the tales in the Iliad to the era of the Greco-Persian Wars, and the rise of Macedon under Philip II and his son Alexander the Great.

[emouradian]

Grief: 18 Months Later

It’s been 18 months since my dad died and my life barely resembles the one he inhabited. 18 months ago, I had just moved from New York to Maryland (back in NY), rented a great, marina-front apartment (current situation: childhood home), was starting a big new position (eliminated) at the organization where I worked for over a decade (unemployed). To be fair, 18 months ago I had also never left the United States, and am currently writing this on a ferry journeying from Athens, Greece to Naxos Island, so it’s not all bad.

I’m wrapping up Week 2 in a month-long trek across Europe. For the equation to that, please see above loss of job, add severance and divide by limited adult responsibilities. This jaunt has already taken me to London, Edinburgh & Prague, across my parents homeland of Bulgaria, a popover in Athens and en route, at time of writing, to Naxos. Still to come: a week through Italy, a stop in Barcelona and finally the south of France. I suppose I should clarify, in this post-Fake News world we live in, that I have been to the Bahamas as a child, Puerto Rico as an adult and all countries in Epcot Center’s World Showcase Pavilion. You can follow the adventures of #AnEddieAbroad on Instagram. #branding

Over these past few weeks, as I’ve been on this adventure of a lifetime, I can’t help but wonder (cue Carrie Bradshaw voiceover): With my current life changing at such a breakneck pace, the loss of my father seems more and more distant. That must mean something, right? Have I gotten over it? Does moving around so much mean I have moved on? As I’ve come to ponder that question, I’ve realized the answer is simple: There is no answer to the question because the question is stupid.

You move on from the Beckys being mean to you in 2nd grade, you “get over” being too sick to go to Safety Town in 3rd grade. Here’s the shocker of loss I’ve discovered: You don’t ever move on. You never get over it. You start over.

After this kind of life change you just begin to exist as a slightly different version of your self, you start over. This is the version of me that doesn’t have a father. Because of that loss, I’ve felt and experienced so much more life - and it shows. Maybe not in creases on my face (post-Whole30 my skin looks amazing), but in a nearly invisible shadow cast over me. This new version functions in the world in a different way, like having an indiscernible limp after a bad car accident. New people I meet, hopefully at my new job (it doesn’t exist yet, so let’s all take a moment to cross our collective fingers, shall we?), will never know him, or know me with him in my life, and that will make our relationship different - not better or worse, just different.  I think I may be less kind now, perhaps not in a way that anyone else notices but in ways that I feel in myself. Or maybe I just see the world that way, not necessarily darker but a hue more grey.  I’m certainly less patient and find anger and jealousy much easier to access than before. I’m now the kind of person who prescribes meaning to everything – pennies, orange cats. Sometimes I’m so overwhelmed by the navigation of life as the new me, that I need to stop and stand still for a moment. I think I’ve developed eczema on my leg. 

Now I realize this sounds mostly bleak, but really, it’s not: I go to the gym now and care about my personal health. I got everything in my body from top to tail checked out, because I wanted to feel strong and healthy, but also because it seemed like something a person who lost his father at 70 should do. I used to joke that I moved to Maryland to escape my friends and now if I could crawl into their collective skin, it wouldn’t be close enough. I’m closer with my mother, appreciate my sister, value my family more. Every Thursday in June I did something new that scared me – went to Yoga, took a spin class, got a tattoo. This version of me is writing because nothing makes me happier, and am trying, at thirty-six, to pursue it as my career (feel free to forward this to any agents you may know). I’ve gotten braver, more adventurous, even though a few months ago, just existing in the world was terrifying. Now I’m traipsing across Europe breathing in all it has to offer. Perhaps most telling of all, I’ve skipped an astonishing number of naps on this trip in favor of one more soul-righting site to see. Even when it’s not perfect, maybe especially when it’s not perfect, I feel an appreciation for life, for living, that I didn’t before. This new version of me I started over as, took the lemons that life served me, and decided to go to Europe for a month, because by the time I get back the lemons will have rotted and disintegrated into nothing.  I don’t think I would’ve done that six months, a year, two years ago.

When you experience a huge loss - or, I suppose any big life change, as I imagine a lot of parents can relate to some of what I’m saying – a version of yourself vanishes, like Marty McFly’s siblings from a picture every time his mom flirts with him in Back to the Future (Sidenote: That movie has a lot of problematic elements). I didn’t expect this, even though, to be fair, I’ve experienced some degree of loss over my thirty-six years on Earth. The person who moved to Maryland for an exciting adventure to take on a big new job and meet new people and maybe find someone to spend his life with, that person is gone. In this particular chapter of “Choose Your Own Adventure: Life Edition”, I have lost the option of seeing what would become of that (potentially) loveable scamp. I suppose he’d grow to love soft shell crab and Old Bay seasoning, maybe he would’ve fought harder to stay at the job he’s been at since he was twenty-five, not because he wanted to but because it felt safe; Maybe he would’ve been brave enough to stay in Maryland for another year, just to give it a real chance to work, even if he hadn’t stayed at his job. But even that makes this guy a stranger - an outline of a person who will never be colored in. I never expected to mourn anything other than losing my dad, but I’ve come to realize that I grieve for that version of my life. Or maybe it’s just curiosity, or anger that I’ll never know, but it’s there, once at the outside of the frame, now coming sharper into focus. The real truth is this all stopped being about my dad a long, long time ago. To pretend like it hasn’t, like this is still only about him not being here, is like blaming a mass-shooting victim for being in the way of the gun.

I’ve become both better and worse in ways subtle and grand, in ways I probably wouldn’t have realized if I hadn’t started writing all this eighteen months ago. In death, my father gave me this incredible gift of a new version of myself, a new skin after the old has been shed, or more accurately, ripped off me. It was a gift I didn’t ask for, which sent me on a journey I wasn't quite ready for like Frodo and his ring or Buffy and her Slayer-ness or some other less nerdy example. It is a gift, this Eddie Reboot, that has made me want to call Life’s Manager and ask about the return policy several times. If given a map I could draw a line from the person I am today, standing on this boat, and the call I got from my mother telling me to drive to the hospital in New York during a snowstorm. It’s awful and wonderful to feel like anything good came from losing him; spectacular and devastating to think this new version of me may be the best one, that it could only exist without my father here.

I still miss my dad, sometimes so much, so thoroughly, so unexpectedly, I need to excuse myself in the middle of a conversation at a Scotland bar so I can go have a good, beer-infused cry in a bathroom stall. Sometimes I am so taken over by the magnitude of the beauty of this trip – both literally and figuratively – that I find myself needing to catch my breath. Eighteen months, to the day, after my father left us, I found myself in Bulgaria where he lived as a kid. Just a few days later I was in Greece, my old mentor and Work Dad Ted’s beloved home country on the anniversary of his passing. I no longer take the magic of that happenstance for granted.

Life is long and extraordinary and weird and beautiful. I think for the first time in my life, I can appreciate that; I can feel it jolting me awake like the salt water spraying my face on the deck of this ferry. And that I thank my dad for. Eighteen months gone and he still gives the best gifts.

[modiintrainguy]

This morning was a shit show

March 19, 2019 10.25am

So I’m at home now and ive calmed down a lot.

But this morning. Oi va voi, as littlerone might say.

I woke up with insane tension – worried about today cos littlun finishes gan at 12 and im working from home. And I wasn’t sure about what time the mrs was going to leave to get the train so I didn’t know when I needed to get up.

Obviously I hadn’t checked if there is tzaharon, I assumed there wasn’t.

Amazingly turns out there is tzaharon till 3 and hasaa from the gan to tzaharon – so instead of thinking I had to pick her up at 12 so leave at 11.45 and then give her lunch and get her to keep herself busy from 12.15 to 4.45 when I pick up littlerun, now I can stay her till 2.50 and then get her to keep herself busy till 4.45.

That makes a fuckload of difference and explains why im feeling a lot calmer.

But of course I didn’t know that at 5am.

So I tried to ignore it and finally at 6am mrs woke up. And we agreed she would get the kids ready and I could do meditation. At 6.30 she said I have half an hour but it still wasn’t clear what train she was getting and who was taking littlerun to her maon gan.

When I got up I asked her when she was leaving and she said shes taking the 7.48. so I thought that means she wont be there long enough cos I have therapy at 7 so she needs to be home in time but then we realized she will get the 6.39 so she can leave at 5.20 so she will do nearly 9 hours.

She asked me to get the aruchat 10 ready for littun so I did but then it all went wrong cos she said she was going to take littlerun to maon and I was like its ok I’ll take them but then I got stressed and rushed littlun who wanted perfume on her hair and I threw the bottle in the sink. It didn’t break but it could’ve and she was upset and was like why did you do that. Then I tried to find littleruns shoes and I couldn’t and I got frustrated and kicked the draw in their room and nearly broke it.

Littlerun was taking all those little number and letter magnets off the front door and putting them on the floor so I just kicked them out the way.

Then the mrs said stop it I’ll take her. They shouldn’t see this. And she was right. I was out of control. I was so tense and I was getting angry and it was bad.

So the mrs took littlerun, all dressed up like Minnie mouse and I was left with littlun. And it was ok  we counted coins she had in her piggy bank and then mrs came back – obviouslt didn’t make her 7.48 train cos I dithered and made her think I was gonna take the littlerun and then didn’t. so we went down to the street for the hasaa with the dog and littlun got on the hasaa and I walked with the dog and the mrs to the station. And then there was more stupid tension about whether she is coming home tomorrow to go to the megillah with me and the girls cos she has an office party in tel aviv tomorrow night. I thought she said she wasn’t going to go to the party the other day but she said she didn’t. then she said she would go and I thought she meant she would go straight but she meant she would come home first. Obviouslyt I want her to be home by 6 so we can go together to the megila, but she cant – shes gonna try and be home by 7 for the purim carnival in the shul.

All the misunderstanding and me getting annoyed and stresse d about looking after the girls and taking them to the megillah by myself while im in this state got me even more stressed and in the end we were having a tense conversation standing outside the station and she just walked off and I called her to say come back cos I wanted to hug her and say goodbye but she had right ly had enough of me.

Zehu.

I came home, found out soon enough about the tzaharon and now I feel a bit less shitty.

But what do we know

I also felt crappy about work, but im working on it

And at least I didn’t eat when I was stressed and depressed and didn’t eat yesterday during the day so im back to the intermittent fasting and ran 8k in 46 min.

So what son my mind right now

Work:

Just do 2 marketing docs and im ok

Life

Pick up littlun at 3, give her to play till 3.10 – 4.50, pick up littlerun, go to park.

Or out for supper?

ADDHD? Is it a disease or just personality traits? What can I do about this shit ive been going through – this week is all documented.

MONDAY

Ok I didnyt document yesterday – I did some procrastination. H is in Bulgaria. I didn’t eat and I ran.

When I came home I cleaned up the kitchen a bit and was gonna speak to my brother about pesach but preferred to go to bed with mrs but shed turned the light out just before I got in.

SUNDAY

Oh yeah, Sunday was the purim thing at work. I was happy I got the dog costume pajama thing and I got one for Hagai. Did a bit of work ok, haven’t heard from Gwy but the jobs been advertised again so im guessing I didn’t get it.

In the evening applied for more jobs so felt better – although I took 3 of those anxiety pills which I don’t feel good about but they didn’t do that much anyway

SO

Back to how we are feeling now.

Nervous this therapy is gonna be a waste of time – just try and see

Pissed off I don’t have a job I want to go to – why don’t I like it:

Jennie, the environment, the vagueness, the gambling industry, the company isn’t friendly

Gonna have to keep applying

Keep on trying to be calmer.

Ive obviously let my shit get the better of me and kind of given up, even if I type this and do meditation and breathing – they are only good for short period of times. When I need it when it fucks up im fucked.

Lets see what happens at 7pm them.

[artworkandstuff]

Basics of our political climate and how its been shaped right now

Brexit

Brexit is a political term given to Great Britain leaving the European Union. The European Union is a Union which consist of 28 countries in Europe. It was originally created as a means of peace in 1957 after WW2 to avoid future conflict between neighboring countries and to share their worlds with each other freely. And with a population of just less than half a billion, it was important for everyone to maintain their health but also their children’s future. The EU has with the biggest single market in the world, allowing free trade between these countries; Britain, Germany, Poland, France, Italy, Spain, Romania, Sweden, Netherlands, Bulgaria, Greece, Republic of Ireland, Czech Republic, Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Finland, Belgium, Denmark, Portugal, Malta, Cyprus, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia and Latvia. Not only was the EU created based upon peace, but it was created as part of a bigger picture to bring these countries closer together through economics, education, law and currency.

The existence of the EU has allowed many citizens to legally live in other countries within the EU without any questions asked, much like you moving down the street in your own country. The ease of travel and living has encourage many to follow their dream jobs and achieve what they once may not of had the chance to. For example the EU is world leading in science as scientists can work together freely, down to the right to work anywhere and unlimited travel down to free movement, it has created a safe haven for scientists to work. However, where there is a pro, there is always a con. Many citizens feel cheated out of tax they pay towards the EU as the EU doesn’t fully explain what it does. Because of this it has caused anger among many and led to the creation of a party known as UKIP. UKIP stands for United Kingdom Independence Party. The party was created in 1993 in order to encourage voters to vote them into the houses of parliament so they could challenged our relationship with the EU. The party is of far right wing ideology and has had many controversial encounters with particular topics, especially immigration. The term immigration is used to talk about people immigrating to a country. Nonetheless UKIP inspired the term to be used as a euphemism for ethnicity. Far right wing parties typically tend to be biasly white and either openly or rather secretly wish for a superior race of white people.

UKIP influenced the idea of leaving the EU what is now known as Brexit. Brexit was a national vote within Britain for Britain to decide if it was to remain or leave the EU. It was casted in 2016 under a conservative government with David Cameron as Prime Minister after a petition to leave the EU reached over 100,000’s signatures and had to be debated in the houses of parliament. Because of this a national vote was casted in order to find out how the British public felt. Two campaigns were at play “Leave” or “Remain”. The Remain campaign led by the current Prime Minister a the time, David Cameron, didn’t have much substance to it as it believed the British public were smart enough to understand that the cons outway the pros of leaving the EU and its better to stay nice and cosy as we are. Despite this, the Leave campaign was huge.The Leave campaign was led by ex mayor of London and Conservative MP Boris Johnson aka our part time national laughing stock. You could tell that he used Brexit as a means to further his own political career and if won would attempt to become PM. Not only did the Leave campaigns enthusiastic approach work, but so did all of its over exaggerated promises. On the side of a big red bus which Boris Johnson toured around the UK in, had “We send the EU £350 Million a week - Lets fund our NHS instead - Vote leave - Let’s take back control”. This was seen to really draw in the voters as the NHS is the best thing to happen in the modern world. The promise of the £350 Million that could be spent on the NHS seemed like a dream. Though we know by the now in the world of politics, if it sounds too good to be true it probably is. Of course this was one of those cases. When the votes were counted and Leave had won, that morning on GMB caused rather a stir and has confused the general public ever since. Nigel Farage, founder and current leader of UKIP during this time was asked on GMB “The 350 Million pounds a week we send to the EU, which we will no longer send to the EU. Can you guarantee that’s going to the NHS”. Bearing in mind his party was established to encourage voters to vote them as MP’s so that Brexit would exist. Though himself personally never once stated that quote, it was only on the side of a big red bus toured by Conservative MP Boris Johnson. Farage answered back “No I can’t and I would have never made that claim”. Many people were confused as people assumed both Johnson and Farage despite being in separate parties both shared the same Brexit dream. Yet they did, but for different reasons. Farage wanted Brexit to control our immigration borders as I explained how the party used immigration as a euphemism for ethnicity, and Johnson wanted Brexit to show he is a strong leader so that he could run for PM. Much to his joy, he won, the Leave campaign won, in spite of this he then turned around and basically said that he couldn’t be bothered to become PM.

David Cameron was the current Prime Minister at the time of Brexit, after leading the failed Remain campaign he stepped down from his position stating that as his campaign’s lost, he felt unfit to run the country and so the conservative government had to elect a new leader to become Prime Minister. Rather ironically the new Prime Minister Theresa May has been tasked to run the country and make a sailing success of Brexit, I say ironically as she sided with the remain voters, when the Leave campaign won. So a remainder is technically leading a majority country of Leavers.

Since all of this political havoc, there has been much more troubles standing in the way of a smooth Brexit. These include a divorce bill of up to £40 Billion which would still have the taxpayer paying it off come 2060, an absolutely embarrassment of a Brexit secretary who keeps lying about lots of important things, and the fact that as of recent opinion polls no one really wants Brexit having found out the cons outweigh the pros.

Rather sadly 75% of 18-24 year olds voted to remain in the EU, when in reality they are the future, though they have been overridden by the older generation wanting to leave the EU. It’s much like two people wanting to watch a film. You can either watch incredibles 2, or 50 shades of grey (Just a quick note, this cinema makes you pay for the film after you watch it). You really want to watch incredibles 2 as it’s a great film, you despise 50 shades of grey as its basically soft porn and incredibly boring. However you are forced by the other person to watch 50 shades of grey as they want to. You have no choice but to sit there and watch it. Halfway through the film, the person who wanted to watch that particular film leaves the room and never comes back, yet you still have to sit there and watch it. Once its finished, on your way out you are made to pay for the ticket of the other person that left. That’s a Brexit analogy for young people.  

Grenfell

Grenfell is the name of a fire damaged tower block that killed 80 people as it was tragically engulfed in fire during the summer of 2017. It was built in 1974 and renovated in 2016. However due to council disagreements and unregulated supervision of the renovation the cladding used to renovate it, to make it look less like an eye sore and more like a brand new build, was actually illegal as it didn’t meet fire and safety regulations.

The building was only ever renovated from the outside, the inside of the building was so dated that if built today would be illegal. There was no water sprinklers in the tower, fire doors and equipment were faulty and long out of date. Gas pipes were left uncovered throughout the tower block and the emergency lighting was unfit. Many times the residents in the tower blocks express their views to the council that their building should be fit for human habitation and that includes safety as a number one priority. Appeal after appeal and the local Kensington and Chelsea council were unable to see eye to eye due to Kensington being a labour constituency and Chelsea being a conservative. Because of this nothing was ever done to combat the possible tragedy from happening. Residents were angry that out of 121 flats spread across 24 floors there was only one fire exit, only one.

The £10 renovation which went ahead in 2016 was carried out by Rydon, on the orders of the Kensington and Chelsea council. Rydon was a private construction company that would typically use sub contractors, them themselves would use sub contractors also, leading to the work being carried out by the likes of Arconic and Celotex Saint-Gobain, not actually Rydon. The council made it clear that they wanted the refurbishment costs to stay as low as possible which led to the construction company changing the type of cladding from a fire resistant zinc cladding, to a much less safe and basic aluminium cladding. The money saved was upwards of £290,000, though that amount only equates to 3% of the whole renovation. Police are in contact with 60 firms to understand why fire safety measures were thrown out the window.

Something known as “Red tape” was a introduced under government minister eric pickel in 2010, that whenever a new fire regulation is created, another should be scrapped. Because of this, fire safety concerns were brought forward by experts claiming that this discouraged new and updated regulations to be created. This meant that fire sprinklers were not legal in high rise social housing buildings.

The evening on the night of the fire, worried residents were told firmly to stay put in their apartments as each level was in essence a fire resistant box. Yet when firefighters arrived on scene they were unable to understand how it was spreading as quickly as it was. The outdated building and lack of updated fire regulations led to the painful and slow death of 80 people. The firefighters told residents to ignore regulations and make a run for the stairs as to stay in the building would be suicide down to the lack of fire safety. Unfortunately people tried the stairs and died on their way down, some residents tried jumping to avoid the fire on the stairs and died on impact. On top of this the firefighters were limited with crucial resources and equipment. The night of the event the radios the brigade were using were not working as they should of done. Due to cuts to public services from 2010 since the conservative government, firefighter numbers fell by 10,000.

An out of touch council were too ignorant to provide initial emergency accommodation and never once helped the residents till the residents confronted the council themselves. The local community pulled together to help those affected by opening their mosques and town halls for emergency accommodation till the council provided something more appropriate. Donations of food and water were vital to the residents well being and health as what they experienced has scared them for life. If it wasn’t for the generosity of the community I’m not sure what the council would of done.

The ignorance of the council has made the case all that more toxic on their half. Shutting journalists and survivors out of meetings, attempting to blame the tragedy on the residents and simply being out of touch with the community. 2 months on from the blaze only 14 families were successfully rehoused with everyone else still in temporary accommodation.

9 months on and £21 Million has been spent of temporary accommodation, up to £8 Million was shared across survivors for the loss of their valuables. Out of the 209 families needing homes, 185 accepted accommodation weather that be temporary or permanent with 126 moving in. This means that 24 families are still without a place to call home.

General Election 2017

The 2017 snap general election is an event that’ll forever haunt the conservative party . It shall haunt them, reminding them of the time Theresa May led their party into a hung parliament leading to the coalition of coas with the DUP (Democratic Unionist party). I use the term “coalition of coas” as this is the term the conservative party used to threaten the country when talking about the possibility of a Labour government. A coalition is an agreement between two parties when one party doesn’t have enough seats in order to form a government. This means that the smaller party helps bulk out the numbers for the larger party so they have enough seats for a government. 326 seats are the key amount of seats to hold a government and to be their own party without being propped up by another party. However the past few years the conservative government fell into a coalition in 2010 with the Liberal Democrats as they didn’t have enough votes to form their own government. In the 2015 general election however they did, they secured enough to form their own government without an extra party. Yet in the summer of 2016 the Brexit vote came about which led to a change in leader of the party and on the 11th of July 2016 Theresa May become PM.

Roll on 2017 and the media were asking the PM if there would be a snap general election as it was very clear to the country that people were unsure of Brexit and if it’ll be a success. The new leader of the conservative party Theresa May, said multiple times that she wouldn’t hold another election till 2020, however she turned around and changed her mind which led to her confirming a snap general election on the 18th of April 2017. It was to then be held on the 8th of June.

The run up to the 2017 general election will be taught about in schools for years to come down to the “run up” to the election. Not only did the disaster of Grenfell happen, the London Bridge Terror Attack and the Manchester Arena Terror Attack. All of these events shaped the turn out of the election and there was even talk of postponing the election till a later date so the country could recover from such horrible events. Yet it wasn’t postponed and it went ahead as planned. The lack of response from the conservative government on the rather recent tragedies was appalling, so much so that the public were able to see the parties true colours.

There is the saying that everything happens for a reason and how common the butterfly effect is. But it seems as if the events that Britain saw in early 2017 definitely did shape the turn out of the election. Throughout the election the media tried everything they could to influence people’s vote as it is well known that certain papers do endorse certain parties as they are usually happy to claim who they support. The newspapers openly backing the Conservative party are; The financial times, The times, The daily telegraph, The sun, The daily mail. The newspapers openly backing the Labour party are; The daily mirror, The Guardian and The new statesman. Both the Conservative party and the Labour party are the main two parties holding majority of the vote within the country. Another party which is the 3rd most popular is the Liberal Democrat party which is backed by one paper, The economist.  

Regardless of the pathetic propaganda the papers print, each party has a chance to share its political aims and ideology in the means of a manifesto. However the Conservatives 2017 manifesto was actually, and in the most simplest terms, terrible. In no way did their pledges represent a wide audience, and nor did their actual pledges respect their own voters. The only term I can think of to describe this is “don’t shit where you eat”.  Majority of conservative voters are older than 40, where as majority of labour voters are under 40. You’d expect the party that best represents the older generations to at least offer them some form of comfort within their manifesto, however this is not the case. One of the policies put forward within the 2017 manifesto, but was rather quickly scrapped after backlash was a policy nicknamed “the dementia tax”. If you own your own home and have paid national insurance your whole life, that money you put forward for national insurance won’t be used for social care and instead the value of your house will. A private company would buy your house, so they own it while you live in it and the money you got for the “sale” of your house would be used as money for your own social care. This meant that when you die, the company who bought the house off you could then go ahead and sell it and of course they’d make a profit off of it because of inflation. The reason for the backlash was if people between the ages of 18-60 lived in the house alongside the original owner, they would then be made homeless when the original owner dies. Not only that, but you wouldn’t be able to inherit the property if it was an older family members. One would question if this helped shaped the election results and one would think it was a contribution.

During the election campaign it was very clear that tv appearances showed the country who truly cared and who was serious. Tv is such a widespread form of communication that it’s rather vital when reaching out to people. Not only that but it’s how majority of people find out information if they’re not online. There were many appearances of the party leaders, especially Jeremy Corbyn, however it was very clear that one particular politician and one very important one was absent. The country’s own prime minister vowed to not set foot in front of a camera as she wanted to talk to people themselves. She walked around the country to her own party’s already held constituencies and done door knocking. Now correct me if i’m wrong but isn’t that a great way to appeal to a wide audience by talking to your own supporters. Jokes aside Theresa May did make the effort for a few tv appearances, however none were very long and she continually refused to take part in political debate with other parties. So much so that when it came to a live broadcasted debate between the leaders of each party, theresa may sent Amber Rudd, the home secretary, in her replacement. That’s like getting asda’s own brand chocolate spread when you have your shopping delivered and their out of nutella. Doesn’t really cut it.

The Labour party loved the election as it was a chance for the party to shine after the semi boring, semi interesting leadership of Ed Miliband. Jeremy Corbyn took the party to new strengths by engaging with the youth on a respectful level. The Labour party were smart enough to use logic and realise that young people are the future and if you treat them well, you may have a voter for life. Introducing new policies such as abolishing university fees, bringing back public ownership of the railways and taxing the fat cats, Labour was thinking correctly. By appealing to the younger voters more, as opposed to the older voters, Labour had the upper hand over the Conservatives as majority of the conservative voters had more of a chance of dying than voting in the next election. However, the Conservatives as we know didn’t even care for their elderly voters that much as they attacked their children with the dementia tax.

The final outcome of the election was rather interesting. Conservatives lost 13 seats, Labour gained 32. The Liberal Democrats gained 3 and the SNP lost 19. Not bad going.

[gsmatthews95]

Life in a bulgarian hospital

Allo. I write to y'all today in an upbeat yet somber mood. Spirits are high, I'm excited for home, I'm excited for Oktoberfest and this has been an immense 2 months. Yet, as this trip draws to an end its sad: reality draws ever nearer, working life is calling my name and I've gotta make sure my friends haven't completely forgotten who I am. Yes, so we are on the plane, awaiting our delayed leave time (currently 25 minutes late) so we can get back to Berlin in one piece after the true oxymoron nature of the last week and a half. On the one hand it was highly stressful as Alina was in hospital, we had no information on when she'd be allowed out and I was basically her runner/nurse/helper, whatever you like to call it, but on the other hand her being in hospital paralyzed both my desire and my ability to be too active and adventurous as I had to be on hand and around in the evening to visit her, thus I was left in limo as I did very little all day and chilled out in the evening. So it was stressful in nature but also coincided with the most relaxed part of the trip for me (sorry Alina). 

We have been in Bulgaria's capital, Sofia, now for almost two weeks I think as Alina has had her appendix taken out and was subsequently hospitalised for five days before we had to stay and wait for her to recover before we could take a flight back to Berlin to officially finish the trip. The last week has kind of felt like already having been at home as it's been lots of TV, sleeping and eating (no complaints there). I will give a quick rundown to you guys of the hospital timeline and experience as I think that was the most striking and prominent part of our time in Sofia. So luckily for us Bulgaria is in the EU. Therefore Alina's insurance covered her fully and money was not an issue. From being diagnosed with appendicitis it was a quick process to getting her operated on as it is an emergency surgery and recommended to be done immediately with any delay being potentially fatal. This made our choice of whether to have it done in Sofia immediately or in Berlin after a flight a simple one. After a few tears and a short to call to mum Alina was ready to give the all clear and get operated on, prescribing herself to five uncomfortable, tough day in hospital. The process thereafter, as I say was swift. She was put on a wheelchair and whizzed around the hospital. It was immense. She probably visited 30% of the hospital in half an hour. Her nurse just sped her in and within minutes she was out and off to another room. I was left to sit outside each room and chase after him every time they moved to a new room. Sporting her new "oversized" and "vintage" (read vintage as old and pre used) clothes Alina didn't look impressed but she stayed strong and before long was off to the operating room. I was left to wait outside for this to finish having had no communication from anyone of how long it would take, I only had a guess of roughly an hour as Alina was told by one of the doctors. I waited, I blogged, I tried to sleep, I learnt about science. The time dragged. Two hours later in came the stretcher with a barely conscious girl lying on it. The surgeons told me it all went well and I could see her in a few minutes. 20 minutes later I was in. She was still very effected by the anesthetic so conversation wasn't as exciting as normal but she was fine. All my fears had been cleared. She however was freezing so we laid a few jumpers over her. After an hour I was kicked out and told to return at four for visiting hour. Yep you got one hour for visitation a day, seems a bit short to me. I was also told to come in earlier for info at 12.

I came in duly at 12 for info, I got nothing. All I could do was give a bag of her stuff to a doctor to take in for me. I left and returned at 4. It was nice to see Alina. She was still weak but improved from the night before. The hospital was pretty bleak. No WiFi, one tiny TV for the four patients and all in Bulgarian. I was feeling very sorry for her but we didn't think itd be long before she'd be out. The hour passed in a flash and I was kicked out again. This was why, by the way, I did so little as I was left in limbo by the doctors and with the lack of info it was hard for me to do much else in between going to the doctors and the 30 minutes walk each way. The next few days proceeded similarly as she for ever stronger, ate more and drank more. When the main issue was boredom and not pain, this is when my spirits rose as I knew she must be out soon. The main issue for alina was that very few of them spike any English and they paid her thus little attention. Especially, as it was so hard for her to ask for things or communicate at all with the nurses as they tended to her noisy neighbours. This brings me on to another point. One of the worst things about hospitals as we're all aware is that even if you are getting better, the people around might not be. This can lead to rough experiences and poor nights.

Sleep as Alina found on maybe her third night leading to me getting a message that I needed to bring ear plugs with me... Not good. Hearing the story made me cringe as apparently one person came in from surgery at 11 and then spoke to their family for an hour with the lights on full blast. After this the doctors were in and out operating, medicating and what not with the lights on and making huge noise. Eeeeek. Sounded butterz to me. Luckily she only had one more night to endure at this point. On the day of her release I came in early at 11 to pay some medical bills and went up to see if she could go. I literally snuck into the ward after a doctor as I was basically ignored by a previous one and found her. With no contact I had no idea what was going on but we spoke to a doctor and gauged that with her insurance card we could leave, this was exceptional news. Gearing up to leave we got ready but with ultimate Bulgarian style we were made to wait as I had to go sit outside for an hour with yet again no information before again forcing my way in to find Alina ready to go. The whole process was long and painful as we had no information on what was happening.

The days after went very easily as we got a private room and did literally nothing. It was awesome and then deciding Friday was the day to go back we booked our flights and here we are. Having just set off, we're ready to get back to Berlin.

Anyhow, what we actually did in Sofia was minimal. We went on a good free walking tour and I climbed up to the summit of virosha mountain which is right next to the city. An easy walk as I took a bus up maybe the first 90% of the mountain and just had a simple few hour walk to make it up to the top. As a city Sofia was awesome. Very livable, good history, nice buildings, a good chilled vibe and lots going on. As places we've been go it was a good place to be stuck for me and good for Alina because the hospital must have been better than in other cities we've been to. 

I have only a few more pieces to write before I head home, maybe one on Oktoberfest and my time in Munich, a little recap of this trip and then maybe a cute reflective one on this year as a whole. Yay. Three more epic reads for y'all before this blog may be retired for some time. 

G.

[writingdumpster-o]

Chapter Six:

One Month Later

The next few weeks, everybody kept talking about the Tournament and who they thought was going to put in their name, or whose name would come out. That morning, Magdalene sat alone at Slytherin table. It was the first day of October and she had had trouble sleeping ever since coming back to Hogwarts. Consequently, she was always the first Slytherin at the table. That morning, she was spreading butter on toast with Shyvana purring by her side. She was just about to get a first bite when someone tapped on her right shoulder, stopping her in mid-chunk to her great frustration.

“Malfoy.” Magdalene greeted, her mouth full.

The blonde grunted in response. "Just hand me some of that,” she snatched the bit toast from the aggravated redhead as she was preparing to bite in it again.

Magdalene’s mouth gaping, with her hand still placed as if she were holding an invisible toast, learned that Victoria was not a morning person. Not before breakfast, at least, for she started talking after a few mouthfuls of toast and coffee.

“What’s in our schedule?” She asked.

“A month in, and you still don’t know that we don’t have the same specifics. I have wand lore and you have Herbology.” Magdalene spoke, unused to being so casual with the female Malfoy.

“Swell,” Victoria drawled. “It’s today, you know.”

“What’s today?” Magdalene asked, buttering another toast she was hoping to eat.

“Don’t act silly, it doesn’t suit you.” Victoria scoffed. “The French and the Bulgarians are coming today. And so will the Goblet of Fire.”

Magdalene nodded slowly. “All right, what does it have to do with me?”

Victoria raised a doubtful eyebrow. “You need to learn Occlumency, Middleton.”

“You used Legilimency on me?!” Magdalene thundered, the butter knife she was holding piercing the innocent toast.

“Taking lessons from your Death Eater relatives, Malfoy?” Michael Corner sneered from Ravenclaw table, where he overheard Magdalene’s bellow.

Victoria fought the urge to turn around, but new veins appeared on the back of the hand that held her fork.

“Eavesdropping, Corner?” Magdalene asked as Pansy and Daphne sat on either side of Victoria.

“Don’t talk so loudly if you don’t wanna be overheard, and I just defended your Muggle-Born arse.” He retorted coldly, turning his eyes back to his Daily Prophet as though nothing had happened.

Magdalene looked around for teachers. Satisfied she would not be spotted; she pulled out her wand and sent a wordless spell in his direction. After five minutes of wordless breakfast, the four Slytherins heard a thud from Ravenclaw table and those who weren’t facing the sound turned around to watch Corner struggling to get off of the bench. He cast an alarmed glance at the green-clad group of girls, the blonde of whom had a slight smirk.

“You did that!” He sneered.

Magdalene raised her eyebrows and stuck out her bottom lip. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“What is the meaning of this?” Professor McGonagall asked, noticing the struggling Ravenclaw and the smirking Slytherins.

“Professor, she used a Sticking Charm on me.”

“He made rude and unwelcome remarks about my housemate.” Magdalene explained calmly as she ran the butter knife over the previously-stabbed toast.

McGonagall pursed her lips as she regarded Corner and then the quiet Slytherins. “I see.” She flicked her wand at Corner, who was struggling to reach his wand, which was too far to his right. The momentum of his pull made him fling himself over the table, knocking his cup of juice over in the process.

Magdalene stifled a snort at the sight, but straightened her features as the headmistress turned to look at her. “You won’t get points for this, Miss Middleton.”

She swallowed. “Yes, Professor.”

McGonagall gave one, distasteful glance towards Corner before forging ahead to her seat. Parkinson, who had never felt particularly warmly towards Magdalene, raised her eyebrows with what seemed to be surprise. Victoria’s smirk was revived at hearing Corner curse behind her and storm out of the Great Hall, shouldering Draco on his way out. Magdalene cringed at the inevitable confrontation, but Malfoy merely tightened his jaw, earning a new vein on his temple. He sat a little ways from the Slytherin girls, grabbing a cup and drinking.

“Am I supposed to thank you?” Victoria asked, folding her arms over her chest.

“Don’t mention it. And stay out of my mind, that’ll be enough.” Magdalene requested, though it sounded more like instructions.

Victoria gave one nod as she went to join her cousin. Magdalene listened to Pansy and Daphne’s small talk as she continued to have breakfast.

Victoria sat to Draco’s right and made him turn to face her, so that she could fix his tie.

“I’d like it if you told me before depriving me from breakfast for this,” he grunted, rather annoyed.

“You are not going to go about this castle looking like a homeless Muggle,” she declared before attacking his hair. “By the way, the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students will be coming tonight.”

He nodded absently as Theo came to sit across from them. “I need coffee, where’s coffee?”

“Do you mind?” Victoria asked, fuming.

Theo rolled his eyes and left the table for a more welcoming spot. They ate and drank silently for the most part; he then grabbed a muffin and started spreading fig jam on its surface. He was nearly done when Victoria snatched it from him as well and, before he could protest, put a plump yellow apple in front of him. He gave her a disdainful look.

“What?” She objected, “You wouldn’t want to get fat, now would you?”

“Would you?” He retorted challengingly, still eyeing his muffin.

She shrugged, taking a generous mouthful, chewing patiently, and swallowing. “It’s like you live on another planet, sometimes,” she remarked. “You haven’t noticed that no matter how I eat this is how I will always look.”

“No I haven’t, you spend so much time buying new clothes that I started believing that you have weight problems,” he sassed, earning an elbow in the ribs, which made him wince.

“How’s that for weight problems?” She said emotionlessly.

“What’s our first class?” He asked before biting into his apple.

“Herbology,” she said, “your favourite.”

“Oh yeah,” he drawled sarcastically.

“Come on, now. You don’t want to be late for your first class, I understand you’re so fond of studies and such,” she sassed, reminding him whose fault it was that she was at Hogwarts.

“You do like Quidditch,” he supplied with a hopeful grin.

“There’s the Tournament this year, genius. No Quidditch.” She reminded him, regarding her cousin with disdain.

“Oops.” His interjection was completely unaffected whatsoever.

                                                    ***

That evening, at the feast, McGonagall introduced the two guest schools. Much like in their fourth year, the entrances were laced in theatrics. The Beauxbatons students sat at Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables while their Durmstrang counterparts joined the Ravenclaws and Slytherins. Magdalene noticed Corner trying, and failing, to flirt with an attractive Swedish-looking girl who looked part-Veela. Blaise chose to sit beside Magdalene, with little conversation between them. When Potter, McGonagall, Madame Maxime, and Professor Gregorovitch (the late wand maker’s brother and the replacement for Karkaroff) introduced the Goblet of Fire and the Triwizard Cup (which was the same that Potter had won four years prior), they reminded the Hogwarts students of the age restriction. This was met with heated objections all over again, but McGonagall silenced them and allowed Potter to remind every eligible student that the names would be retrieved from the Goblet a month from then, on Halloween.

Back in the Slytherin common room, and after showing the Durmstrang students to their guest dormitories, Blaise sat at the fireplace near Magdalene. She was playing with Shyvana, who had elected to lie down on her chest.

“How are things, Head Boy?” She teased.

“I’m exhausted. Thank Salazar no one gets to sleep in Crabbe’s old bed. It would’ve been awkward to have someone else in the room instead of him.”

“Yeah, it would feel inappropriate.” She sympathised, running her forefinger around Shyvana’s jaw from her ear.

“Maggie?” His call sounded hesitant.

“Hm?”

“Is it true you want to put your name in the Goblet of Fire?” Blaise asked, making Magdalene stop mid-stroke.

“Where did you hear that?” She asked suspiciously.

“Victoria’s right, you need to learn Occlumency.”

“Salazar’s saggy bollocks, Blaise!” She exclaimed, making a second year boy snort back his tea.

Blaise tried and failed to fight the smile that won over his lips. “This is one I’ve never heard.”

“Don’t make me throw the cat at you; you had no right to use Legilimency on me. It’s illegal.”

“That’s not what you told Victoria this morning,” he observed, reaching for a book that Magdalene Accio’d out of sheer spite. He scowled.

“I would have had time to tell her if that Corner arse didn’t think it ever so wise to interfere.” She assured him.

He stood up from his couch and walked over to hers, calmly retrieving the book from her hand, and she giving in with no protest. He let a few minutes stretch in silence, listening to the fire crackle, before drawing in a deep breath.

“Please don’t do it.”

“If you spent so much time in my mind, you’d know my reasons. The least you could do is to be supportive. We’re not even sure it’s going to spit out my name.” She spoke rapidly, hoping to convince him not to oppose her. He was the only friendship she was sure of, since she had grown distant from Luna.

“Oh, you vant to put yor name in ze Goblet?” A Durmstrang student asked, interest lacing his thickly accentuated voice. He sat in the armchair between the couches and facing the fireplace; either completely unaware or uncaring that he had interrupted their conversation. “I am Sven Malkovitch. I come from Bulgaria.”

“Never would’ve guessed,” Blaise muttered, taking his book to his dormitory and leaving Magdalene to deal with the tourist on her own.

She decided to play the childish card and lifted up Shyvana. “This is Shyvana and she doesn’t like strangers.”

With that, she stood up and took her cat to her dormitory, which was thankfully full and admitted no Durmstrang student. She flopped on her bed and rolled her spare Slytherin scarf into a bed for Shyvana, under her own. Parkinson was working on an essay for what Magdalene guessed was Potions while Victoria, whose bed was directly to Magdalene’s right, was reading.

“I know that book.” She stated, looking at the book cover that showed a house in stormy countryside.

Victoria took a brief glance at the cover of the book she was reading and eyed Middleton suspiciously. “All right?”

“My mother likes it.” She stated simply, unbuttoning her cardigan.

“Good for you.”

“Isn’t your mum a Muggle, Middleton?” Parkinson asked, looking up from her flattened scroll of parchment.

“She is, and so is the book.”

Parkinson peered at Victoria over her reading glasses. “Interesting.”

“The war is over, Parkinson, get over yourself.” Victoria snapped, closing her book noisily and Banishing it with her wand.

Parkinson shrugged. “All I’m saying…” she trailed off, as she got back to her homework.

Magdalene noticed Daphne Greengrass, who was always (along with Tracy Davis) the most pacific presence in the dormitory, was playing with Shyvana. For all the years that Magdalene had owned the cat, she concluded that her pet was an excellent judge of character. If Shyvana liked someone, then the person was good company; end of.

Magdalene shut her curtains and cast a Silencing Charm, but sleep never came. It never did, in Hogwarts, ever since she was forced to come back after that fateful December of 1997.

                                                      ***

Magdalene’s hand was shaking as she struggled to fit the key in the keyhole of the place she had called home until then. Pushing the door, she could swear that creaking had never been there before. She fought back the knots forming in her throat as she made her way to the living room. She shed her Hogwarts cloak on the couch, not caring the least bit that it slid off to the paved floor. Nothing mattered anymore. She went to her room where Shyvana slept peacefully; blissfully unaware of how tragic a turn her mistress’s life had taken in the last forty-eight hours.

Two days prior, she was on the run from Death Eaters and Snatchers, then working with the Ministry in the Muggle-Born Registration Offices. She had stuck to Dean Thomas, a Gryffindor, and Justin Finch-Fletchley, a Hufflepuff she had had a few pleasant interactions with before the war forced them into hiding. Their only source of news was a clandestine radio channel called Potterwatch, which communicated news on the Potter-side of the war, rather than ratting out Muggle-Borns to Snatchers. That night, the password for the radio was Padfoot, and Justin had just tapped his wand against the radio that the list of names started pouring out of the speaker. All three of them waited, dreaded, in anxious silence for names they recognised.

And then it happened.

“And lastly, two Muggles named John and Ivy Middleton were found dead in their apartment in Grays, Muggle authorities spoke of heart attacks and poisoning, but the proofs are apparent: They were murdered by Death Eaters, because their daughter is Muggle-Born. Her whereabouts remain unknown—”

A strangled sob tore through her throat as her attention left the radio. She spent the next hour alternating between crying heart-wrenching sobs to ricking back and forth, hugging her knees, trying to convince herself what she had just heard was a trick of her imagination. Dean and Justin knew better than to interfere or try to calm her down. They were fairly confident the wards they had set around their encampment were strong enough that she could let her emotions fly safely.

However, they protested when she started gathering her things.

“It’s too dangerous, they did it to taunt you into coming out, Maggie!” Justin insisted, holding her wand high, out of her reach.

“Give me my bloody wand!” She screeched, burning her throat, uncaring of the sob that mixed in with her scream. She jumped, but he was much taller than she was.

“They’re doing this to round up Muggle-Borns, please understand I’m keeping you here for your safety!”

“He’s right; you’d be doing them a favour by returning.” Dean reasoned, but she shook her head.

“If I don’t claim their bodies, they’re going to be buried where I can’t find them. Or— Or worse, they’ll be incinerated and I won’t be able to—I have to, you’d do the same if it were your mum, Dean! Please, let me go, I’ll be fine on my own!” She gave up resisting his grip on her arm and threw herself in his arms to sob until her heart felt numb. He wrapped his arms around her, trying to comfort her and hopefully rub away any more ideas of going into Muggle London.

He had obviously failed, as Magdalene changed from her funeral clothes. She had arrived the day before, and found that her parents’ friends had claimed the bodies in her absence. They said that they had tried to telephone to her boarding school but they did not find a number to there. She nodded absently, numbly. Her mother’s high school friend had brought her food, but they both knew it was going to go to waste. Eating was the last thing on her mind.

Magdalene realised with a cynical snort that her parents were murdered on December 24th and proceeded to tear away at the Christmas tree that stood, arrogantly festive in the living room. Her hands were webbed with cuts from the needles and garlands, and she was certain a shard of glass was embedded in her palm. She glided like a ghost to her parents’ bedroom and lied, facedown, on their bed. She inhaled the remains of their scent from their pillows, but it was faint. As though her mother had changed the beddings the day before she died. For the first time in days, Magdalene gave in to sleep, hugging a pillow with both arms and legs.

That was, until she heard the sordidly familiar ‘snap’ of Apparition coming from the corridor. She gasped and jumped from her parents’ bed. She looked around for her wand frantically, before remembering that it was in her bedroom. Thankfully, it was adjacent. She grabbed a photo of her parents as children, in case she needed to flee her apartment, and ran to her bedroom. She grabbed Shyvana and unceremoniously threw her into the duffel bag that she had not unpacked from her days with Justin and Dean. She located her wand on her bedside table and waited anxiously in her room. She mentally cursed herself for forgetting to set up wards.

“I thought you said they were Muggles, Scabior?” A male voice demanded.

“That’s what Avery told me. You wanna take it out on someone, well, choose him. I follow orders, Nott.”

Avery.

Nott.

Familiar names. Magdalene cursed the Sorting Hat for putting her in such a House. She held her wand at the ready when she heard footsteps in the hallway. She eyed her broomstick, leaning against the wall, behind her door. She briefly considered taking it but all projects flew away as the door banged open. She refused to take in the features of the people who were most likely responsible for the murder of her parents.

“Well, well.” Scabior murmured as he saw the Slytherin articles of clothing littering the floor. “I told you there were Mudbloods in Slytherin. They just know not to advertise it.”

The other man (Nott, she figured) remained silent. He looked shocked at her sight. He looked as though he’d seen her die before and met her again in that messy room.

“Ivy.” He muttered, unintelligibly to Scabior and clear as day to Magdalene.

Instinctively, her gaze fell to the framed photo she still had in hand. Nott walked over to her, paying her no heed as she raised her wand threateningly, and snatched the photo from her hand. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the frame with what seemed like all his might.

“Impossible.” He breathed, his eyes going back and forth between the frame and her terrified face. “Impossible.”

“Come on, Nott, if Lestrange—”

“I don’t give a damn about Lestrange! This witch is Half-Blood and she’s returning to Hogwarts.” Nott stated, and from his tone and Scabior’s surrender, she knew that he was the one in charge..

“All right, all right! If they give me shite, I’ll say it was your doing!”

“Of course you will, you coward.” He muttered sarcastically.

Magdalene fought back the urge to say “Like father like son.”

When Scabior went back to the living room, or the kitchen (as she heard him open the refrigerator), Nott grabbed her arm roughly. “Mention this to anyone, and you’ll meet a fate worse than death.” He raised the frame. “I’m keeping this. I expect you back in Hogwarts by the end of Christmas holidays, or I’ll finish the job myself. Understood?”

She nodded, unsure that she could trust her voice. She wanted to ask why he’d spared her, and why her parents’ photo qualified as ‘impossible’, but she thought it wise not to speak.

He kept her gaze firmly before muttering with what sounded like disappointment. “You have your father’s eyes.”

Then she wondered how he knew her father’s eye colour. The photo he held was in black and white and taken from too far away for any eye colour to be discerned. She, at that specific moment, was only glad that she got to live.

“We’re leaving, Scabior. And tell Lestrange that you murdered perfectly good wizards because of your lack of discernment.”

‘Snap’!

“Of course, it’s the Death Eater that gets all the praise.” Scabior muttered, slamming a door.

‘Snap’!

[moreartworkandstuff]

Basics of our political climate and how its been shaped right now

Brexit

Brexit is a political term given to Great Britain leaving the European Union. The European Union is a Union which consist of 28 countries in Europe. It was originally created as a means of peace in 1957 after WW2 to avoid future conflict between neighbouring countries and to share their worlds with each other freely. And with a population of just less than half a billion, it was important for everyone to maintain their health but also their children’s future. The EU has with the biggest single market in the world, allowing free trade between these countries; Britain, Germany, Poland, France, Italy, Spain, Romania, Sweden, Netherlands, Bulgaria, Greece, Republic of Ireland, Czech Republic, Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Finland, Belgium, Denmark, Portugal, Malta, Cyprus, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia and Latvia. Not only was the EU created based upon peace, but it was created as part of a bigger picture to bring these countries closer together through economics, education, law and currency.

The existence of the EU has allowed many citizens to legally live in other countries within the EU without any questions asked, much like you moving down the street in your own country. The ease of travel and living has encourage many to follow their dream jobs and achieve what they once may not of had the chance to. For example the EU is world leading in science as scientists can work together freely, down to the right to work anywhere and unlimited travel down to free movement, it has created a safe haven for scientists to work. However, where there is a pro, there is always a con. Many citizens feel cheated out of tax they pay towards the EU as the EU doesn’t fully explain what it does. Because of this it has caused anger among many and led to the creation of a party known as UKIP. UKIP stands for United Kingdom Independence Party. The party was created in 1993 in order to encourage voters to vote them into the houses of parliament so they could challenged our relationship with the EU. The party is of far right wing ideology and has had many controversial encounters with particular topics, especially immigration. The term immigration is used to talk about people immigrating to a country. Nonetheless UKIP inspired the term to be used as a euphemism for ethnicity. Far right wing parties typically tend to be biasly white and either openly or rather secretly wish for a superior race of white people.

UKIP influenced the idea of leaving the EU what is now known as Brexit. Brexit was a national vote within Britain for Britain to decide if it was to remain or leave the EU. It was casted in 2016 under a conservative government with David Cameron as Prime Minister after a petition to leave the EU reached over 100,000’s signatures and had to be debated in the houses of parliament. Because of this a national vote was casted in order to find out how the British public felt. Two campaigns were at play “Leave” or “Remain”. The Remain campaign led by the current Prime Minister a the time, David Cameron, didn’t have much substance to it as it believed the British public were smart enough to understand that the cons outway the pros of leaving the EU and its better to stay nice and cosy as we are. Despite this, the Leave campaign was huge.The Leave campaign was led by ex mayor of London and Conservative MP Boris Johnson aka our part time national laughing stock. You could tell that he used Brexit as a means to further his own political career and if won would attempt to become PM. Not only did the Leave campaigns enthusiastic approach work, but so did all of its over exaggerated promises. On the side of a big red bus which Boris Johnson toured around the UK in, had “We send the EU £350 Million a week - Lets fund our NHS instead - Vote leave - Let’s take back control”. This was seen to really draw in the voters as the NHS is the best thing to happen in the modern world. The promise of the £350 Million that could be spent on the NHS seemed like a dream. Though we know by the now in the world of politics, if it sounds too good to be true it probably is. Of course this was one of those cases. When the votes were counted and Leave had won, that morning on GMB caused rather a stir and has confused the general public ever since. Nigel Farage, founder and current leader of UKIP during this time was asked on GMB “The 350 Million pounds a week we send to the EU, which we will no longer send to the EU. Can you guarantee that’s going to the NHS”. Bearing in mind his party was established to encourage voters to vote them as MP’s so that Brexit would exist. Though himself personally never once stated that quote, it was only on the side of a big red bus toured by Conservative MP Boris Johnson. Farage answered back “No I can’t and I would have never made that claim”. Many people were confused as people assumed both Johnson and Farage despite being in separate parties both shared the same Brexit dream. Yet they did, but for different reasons. Farage wanted Brexit to control our immigration borders as I explained how the party used immigration as a euphemism for ethnicity, and Johnson wanted Brexit to show he is a strong leader so that he could run for PM. Much to his joy, he won, the Leave campaign won, in spite of this he then turned around and basically said that he couldn’t be bothered to become PM.

David Cameron was the current Prime Minister at the time of Brexit, after leading the failed Remain campaign he stepped down from his position stating that as his campaign’s lost, he felt unfit to run the country and so the conservative government had to elect a new leader to become Prime Minister. Rather ironically the new Prime Minister Theresa May has been tasked to run the country and make a sailing success of Brexit, I say ironically as she sided with the remain voters, when the Leave campaign won. So a remainder is technically leading a majority country of Leavers.

Since all of this political havok, there has been much more troubles standing in the way of a smooth Brexit. These include a divorce bill of up to £40 Billion which would still have the taxpayer paying it off come 2060, an absolutely embarrassment of a Brexit secretary who keeps lying about lots of important things, and the fact that as of recent opinion polls no one really wants Brexit having found out the cons outway the pros.

Rather sadly 75% of 18-24 year olds voted to remain in the EU, when in reality they are the future, though they have been overridden by the older generation wanting to leave the EU. It’s much like two people wanting to watch a film. You can either watch incredibles 2, or 50 shades of grey (Just a quick note, this cinema makes you pay for the film after you watch it). You really want to watch incredibles 2 as it’s a great film, you despise 50 shades of grey as its basically soft porn and incredibly boring. However you are forced by the other person to watch 50 shades of grey as they want to. You have no choice but to sit there and watch it. Halfway through the film, the person who wanted to watch that particular film leaves the room and never comes back, yet you still have to sit there and watch it. Once its finished, on your way out you are made to pay for the ticket of the other person that left. That’s a Brexit analogy for young people.   

Grenfell

Grenfell is the name of a fire damaged tower block that killed 80 people as it was tragically engulfed in fire during the summer of 2017. It was built in 1974 and renovated in 2016. However due to council disagreements and unregulated supervision of the renovation the cladding used to renovate it, to make it look less like an eye sore and more like a brand new build, was actually illegal as it didn’t meet fire and safety regulations.

The building was only ever renovated from the outside, the inside of the building was so dated that if built today would be illegal. There was no water sprinklers in the tower, fire doors and equipment were faulty and long out of date. Gas pipes were left uncovered throughout the tower block and the emergency lighting was unfit. Many times the residents in the tower blocks express their views to the council that their building should be fit for human habitation and that includes safety as a number one priority. Appeal after appeal and the local Kensington and Chelsea council were unable to see eye to eye due to Kensington being a labour constituency and Chelsea being a conservative. Because of this nothing was ever done to combat the possible tragedy from happening. Residents were angry that out of 121 flats spread across 24 floors there was only one fire exit, only one.

The £10 renovation which went ahead in 2016 was carried out by Rydon, on the orders of the Kensington and Chelsea council. Rydon was a private construction company that would typically use sub contractors, them themselves would use sub contractors also, leading to the work being carried out by the likes of Arconic and Celotex Saint-Gobain, not actually Rydon. The council made it clear that they wanted the refurbishment costs to stay as low as possible which led to the construction company changing the type of cladding from a fire resistant zinc cladding, to a much less safe and basic aluminium cladding. The money saved was upwards of £290,000, though that amount only equates to 3% of the whole renovation. Police are in contact with 60 firms to understand why fire safety measures were thrown out the window.

Something known as “Red tape” was a introduced under government minister eric pickel in 2010, that whenever a new fire regulation is created, another should be scrapped. Because of this, fire safety concerns were brought forward by experts claiming that this discouraged new and updated regulations to be created. This meant that fire sprinklers were not legal in high rise social housing buildings.

The evening on the night of the fire, worried residents were told firmly to stay put in their apartments as each level was in essence a fire resistant box. Yet when firefighters arrived on scene they were unable to understand how it was spreading as quickly as it was. The outdated building and lack of updated fire regulations led to the painful and slow death of 80 people. The firefighters told residents to ignore regulations and make a run for the stairs as to stay in the building would be suicide down to the lack of fire safety. Unfortunately people tried the stairs and died on their way down, some residents tried jumping to avoid the fire on the stairs and died on impact. On top of this the firefighters were limited with crucial resources and equipment. The night of the event the radios the brigade were using were not working as they should of done. Due to cuts to public services from 2010 since the conservative government, firefighter numbers fell by 10,000.

An out of touch council were too ignorant to provide initial emergency accommodation and never once helped the residents till the residents confronted the council themselves. The local community pulled together to help those affected by opening their mosques and town halls for emergency accommodation till the council provided something more appropriate. Donations of food and water were vital to the residents well being and health as what they experienced has scared them for life. If it wasn’t for the generosity of the community I’m not sure what the council would of done.

The ignorance of the council has made the case all that more toxic on their half. Shutting journalists and survivors out of meetings, attempting to blame the tragedy on the residents and simply being out of touch with the community. 2 months on from the blaze only 14 families were successfully rehoused with everyone else still in temporary accommodation.

9 months on and £21 Million has been spent of temporary accommodation, up to £8 Million was shared across survivors for the loss of their valuables. Out of the 209 families needing homes, 185 accepted accommodation weather that be temporary or permanent with 126 moving in. This means that 24 families are still without a place to call home.

General Election 2017

The 2017 snap general election is an event that’ll forever haunt the conservative party . It shall haunt them, reminding them of the time Theresa May led their party into a hung parliament leading to the coalition of coas with the DUP (Democratic Unionist party). I use the term “coalition of coas” as this is the term the conservative party used to threaten the country when talking about the possibility of a Labour government. A coalition is an agreement between two parties when one party doesn’t have enough seats in order to form a government. This means that the smaller party helps bulk out the numbers for the larger party so they have enough seats for a government. 326 seats are the key amount of seats to hold a government and to be their own party without being propped up by another party. However the past few years the conservative government fell into a coalition in 2010 with the Liberal Democrats as they didn’t have enough votes to form their own government. In the 2015 general election however they did, they secured enough to form their own government without an extra party. Yet in the summer of 2016 the Brexit vote came about which led to a change in leader of the party and on the 11th of July 2016 Theresa May become PM.

Roll on 2017 and the media were asking the PM if there would be a snap general election as it was very clear to the country that people were unsure of Brexit and if it’ll be a success. The new leader of the conservative party Theresa May, said multiple times that she wouldn’t hold another election till 2020, however she turned around and changed her mind which led to her confirming a snap general election on the 18th of April 2017. It was to then be held on the 8th of June.

The run up to the 2017 general election will be taught about in schools for years to come down to the “run up” to the election. Not only did the disaster of Grenfell happen, the London Bridge Terror Attack and the Manchester Arena Terror Attack. All of these events shaped the turn out of the election and there was even talk of postponing the election till a later date so the country could recover from such horrible events. Yet it wasn’t postponed and it went ahead as planned. The lack of response from the conservative government on the rather recent tragedies was appalling, so much so that the public were able to see the parties true colours.

There is the saying that everything happens for a reason and how common the butterfly effect is. But it seems as if the events that Britain saw in early 2017 definitly did shape the turn out of the election. Throughout the election the media tried everything they could to influence people’s vote as it is well known that certain papers do endorse certain parties as they are usually happy to claim who they support. The newspapers openly backing the Conservative party are; The financial times, The times, The daily telegraph, The sun, The daily mail. The newspapers openly backing the Labour party are; The daily mirror, The Guardian and The new statesman. Both the Conservative party and the Labour party are the main two parties holding majority of the vote within the country. Another party which is the 3rd most popular is the Liberal Democrat party which is backed by one paper, The economist.  

Regardless of the pathetic propaganda the papers print, each party has a chance to share its political aims and ideology in the means of a manifesto. However the Conservatives 2017 manifesto was actually, and in the most simplest terms, terrible. In no way did their pledges represent a wide audience, and nor did their actual pledges respect their own voters. The only term I can think of to describe this is “don’t shit where you eat”.  Majority of conservative voters are older than 40, where as majority of labour voters are under 40. You’d expect the party that best represents the older generations to at least offer them some form of comfort within their manifesto, however this is not the case. One of the policies put forward within the 2017 manifesto, but was rather quickly scrapped after backlash was a policy nicknamed “the dementia tax”. If you own your own home and have paid national insurance your whole life, that money you put forward for national insurance won’t be used for social care and instead the value of your house will. A private company would buy your house, so they own it while you live in it and the money you got for the “sale” of your house would be used as money for your own social care. This meant that when you die, the company who bought the house off you could then go ahead and sell it and of course they’d make a profit off of it because of inflation. The reason for the backlash was if people between the ages of 18-60 lived in the house alongside the original owner, they would then be made homeless when the original owner dies. Not only that, but you wouldn’t be able to inherit the property if it was an older family members. One would question if this helped shaped the election results and one would think it was a contribution.

During the election campaign it was very clear that tv appearances showed the country who truly cared and who was serious. Tv is such a widespread form of communication that it’s rather vital when reaching out to people. Not only that but it’s how majority of people find out information if they’re not online. There were many appearances of the party leaders, especially Jeremy Corbyn, however it was very clear that one particular politician and one very important one was absent. The country’s own prime minister vowed to not set foot in front of a camera as she wanted to talk to people themselves. She walked around the country to her own party's already held constituencies and done door knocking. Now correct me if i’m wrong but isn’t that a great way to appeal to a wide audience by talking to your own supporters. Jokes aside Theresa May did make the effort for a few tv appearances, however none were very long and she continually refused to take part in political debate with other parties. So much so that when it came to a live broadcasted debate between the leaders of each party, theresa may sent Amber Rudd, the home secretary, in her replacement. That's like getting asda’s own brand chocolate spread when you have your shopping delivered and their out of nutella. Doesn’t really cut it.

The Labour party loved the election as it was a chance for the party to shine after the semi boring, semi interesting leadership of Ed Miliband. Jeremy Corbyn took the party to new strengths by engaging with the youth on a respectful level. The Labour party were smart enough to use logic and realise that young people are the future and if you treat them well, you may have a voter for life. Introducing new policies such as abolishing university fees, bringing back public ownership of the railways and taxing the fat cats, Labour was thinking correctly. By appealing to the younger voters more, as opposed to the older voters, Labour had the upper hand over the Conservatives as majority of the conservative voters had more of a chance of dying than voting in the next election. However, the Conservatives as we know didn’t even care for their elderly voters that much as they attacked their children with the dementia tax.

The final outcome of the election was rather interesting. Conservatives lost 13 seats, Labour gained 32. The Liberal Democrats gained 3 and the SNP lost 19. Not bad going.

[ingridgaunson4-blog]

Mom To Cold weather Harbor Casualty

Writer's Keep triki-urodowe17.Info in mind: At the time our experts provided this for publication, the status in Japan was actually as observes: CNN was stating a fourth reactor got on fire as well as the risk of a disaster as still considerable. The winter has actually boosted requirement for fuel, and the European Payment claimed on Monday Bulgaria, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, Poland and also Greece were actually now getting usual bring in degrees, while materials to Romania, Germany and also Italy were raising, however were actually not as yet completely repaired. The Mommy in rule may steer some, to take out their hair as well as yell uncontrollably. UBS states take revenues, BlackRock points out gather up values and an SA factor argues that today's instances bring in the VIX mark ETN both timely as well as cheap. . The mom iguana tries its ideal to be resourceful enough to locate a great location to set its eggs as well as stand by up until they obtain hatched out. Christina's out of balance mom shed her hold on fact completely, and she retreated in to a dark world of countless grieving. I located 3 infant robins, that's mama had created a nest in the edge of our grill. Though, obviously, many blue gowned Irish bride-to-bes most likely presumed that was everything about affecting Mama Mary by opportunity St Patrick's work was actually carried out! She created assurances that included her Will, possesses now virtually rejected me. I thought my mom enjoyed and also cared regarding me. Right now, in my late forties, I learnt to my terror, shock, complication that I could certainly not trust her. Famous instances from charismatic leaders are actually Winston Churchill, Expense Clinton, Mommy Teresa and Adolph Hitler. If this takes place, a mommy or even both parents might potentially have just a few hrs rest in the evening which is a great drawback for all of them specifically if they are both visiting function daily. The most effective means to cope with men that blast cold and also warm is actually to strategy out, draw back when he goes cold. The Hyundai Tucson was the 1st tiny SUV when it entered the marketplace in 2005 and that additionally falls into the type from low-priced Sport utility vehicles. The birds remained in a craze defending the mother and the food items bird was actually installing a heroic but doomed attempt to shield the eggs.

She will possess been somebody even had she not been actually the spouse from God Eddard Stark, as well as the mommy from his five children to her. Yes, the Divine Mother will supply ... therefore will the chai stands smartly situated every 2km or two along the route. Luckily for us, mother earth has actually given us a much better, extra efficient, and less expensive means to clean the air in your home; along with vegetations! So, do not think also momentarily that the fatal narcissist mother in Ordinary People is mosting likely to go see her distressed son in the health center. She informed private investigators that she was actually cleaning her clothing in a regional laundry a couple of years ago as well as overheard a lady referring to the Child Chance case and also saying she felt she was the lifeless child's mama. My mama is an extremely performed person with a lot of premiums, she is extremely generous and thoughtful. I located a few other short articles claiming primarily the same factor, especially along with environment-friendly tea, for example, that it carries out certainly not drop its antioxidants when that sits and receives cold. The popular sauce as well as cold shower alone just weren't enough to warrant a view, despite the jury members individual viewpoints.

[itsiotrecords-blog]

http://ift.tt/2sDBwjt

Most American students learn that World War I featured Brits and Germans shooting at each other from trenches for four years until America showed up to save the day. Even in countries that were major combatants, like Britain and France, teaching is limited to the trenches of the Western front and a key national battle like the Somme or Verdun. It’s not hard to see why. World War I is over a century old now, and it’s overshadowed by its larger budget, more morally black and white sequel. It’s easy to forget that it truly was a world war—battles were fought all around the globe, and the consequences of some of them are still felt today. These are just 10 of many influential battles you probably never learned about.

#1 The Battle of Vittorio Veneto When you think of the Allies in World War I, Italy isn’t the first country that comes to mind. But the Italian Front, where the Italians fought the Austro-Hungarian Empire, featured all the squalor and misery of trench warfare with the added fun of high altitudes and bitter cold—avalanches were as much of a threat as bullets. The brutality came to an end at Vittorio Veneto in 1918. After an Austro-Hungarian offensive in June ended in abject failure, the Italians began their decisive attack in October. The two sides were equal in strength and both suffered heavily casualties, but tactical superiority from the Italians, along with disorganization, low morale and revolt in the Austro-Hungarian ranks made the difference. The Italians advanced continuously over the course of 11 days, not stopping until Austria-Hungary surrendered. The result was the complete collapse of the Empire. Austria and Hungary split in half while Yugoslavia declared independence, and the dissolution of Germany’s chief ally was a key factor in their own surrender just two weeks later. But while Empires were collapsing, other powers were emerging—Vittorio Veneto is seen as the final act of Italian unification, a struggle that began over a century ago in 1815.

#2 The Siege of Tsingtao Japan is infamous for its role in World War II, but like Italy it fought with the Allies in the First World War. While Japan’s role in the conflict was a relatively minor one, it played an important part in naval affairs. One of their first acts was to lay siege to the port of Tsingtao in German held China. The siege began in October 1914 with the Japanese launching the first ever naval-based air strikes, although the attack was unsuccessful and the Germans drew first blood by sinking a Japanese cruiser. Despite the outcome of the siege being a foregone conclusion the Germans put up a fierce defense, with Kaiser Wilhelm II commenting that “it would shame me more to surrender Tsingtao to the Japanese than Berlin to the Russians.” Regardless of the Kaiser’s personal feelings, the Germans were eventually forced to capitulate, although their lengthy holdout against tough odds impressed both sides. As for Japan, their naval success shaped their history. In addition to gaining respect among the Western powers, the Imperial Navy gained massive political influence, and an atmosphere of colonialism and militarism began to take hold. Their acts as Allies, beginning at Tsingtao, laid the groundwork for the Axis Power they would later become.

#3 The Battle of Chra The Battle of Chra, fought in August 1914 in Togoland, seems almost quaint when compared to the war’s other battles. 13 German soldiers gave up their lives in a defensive last stand that killed 44 French soldiers and 31 British troops, yet ultimately still compelled the Germans to surrender. The entire Togoland Campaign lasted less than a month, but it was a prelude to the war that would envelop Africa for the next four years. Small German forces would evade and harass larger Allied armies in an attempt to draw out the conflict and force the Allies to send additional men and supplies to Africa instead of Europe. While some German forces were successful—General Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck was undefeated in battle for the entire war, was the only German to successfully invade British territory, and generally fought what some consider to be the greatest guerrilla campaign in history—they ultimately couldn’t change the result in Europe. Chra is symbolic for another reason as well. The German defeat forced them to surrender Togoland to the Allies, the first of their colonies lost during the war. It would not be the last—by the war’s end, Germany lost its entire sprawling colonial empire.

#4 The Battle of Jerusalem It’s telling that a search for “Battle of Jerusalem” will produce dozens of different results. The strategic and symbolic importance of Jerusalem seems obvious, but at the time Britain’s Sinai and Palestine Campaign against the Ottoman Empire was seen as a sideshow that sucked valuable resources away from the Western Front. Nevertheless, the campaign was deadly serious to the hundreds of thousands of men who fought in it. A strategically complicated campaign that saw many nuanced battles, the Battle of Jerusalem was a particularly complex, back and forth affair. The name is a bit of a misnomer, as the conflict actually took place in the hills and villages outside the city. The Ottomans lost ground before launching several vicious but ultimately unsuccessful counterattacks. At a strategic disadvantage and not wanting to risk damage to the holy city, the Ottomans surrendered Jerusalem and retreated. On December 11, 1917, British General Edmund Allenby entered the city on foot, becoming the first Christian to control Jerusalem in several centuries. It was a hugely symbolic moment in the previously backwater campaign—Prime Minister David Lloyd George described the victory as a “Christmas present for the British people,” while the Ottomans were demoralized to lose another holy city after failing to keep hold of Mecca and Baghdad. A massive victory at a time when the war was otherwise going poorly for the Allies, the loss of Jerusalem marked the beginning of the end for the Ottomans in the Middle East. The effects of the battle are still felt today. Allied conquests in the Middle East led to the creation of modern Iraq, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan, and the political complexities of today’s Middle East can in many ways be traced back to this campaign.

#5 The Battle of Dobro Pole Bulgaria was not a popular country in 1914. Widely despised for their aggression in the Second Balkan War just a year prior, the country initially remained neutral as it strived to recover from recent conflicts. However, its strategically important position soon turned it from a pariah into a promising ally courted by both sides, and it eventually joined with the Central Powers in September 1915 with the promise of territorial gains. Bulgaria punched above its weight in battle, was instrumental in knocking out Serbia and Romania, and also became a crucial thoroughfare for German aid to the Ottoman Empire. However, after initial rapid gains they soon settled into the familiar pattern of trench warfare that saw little progress until economic and strategic problems led to Bulgaria’s sudden collapse in 1918. This reversal of fortunes culminated in the Battle of Dobro Pole. French troops and surviving Serbian forces routed the Bulgarians, leading to revolts by the soldiers and the abandonment of the front lines. While the Bulgarians were able to rally long enough to win the next battle and stave off a complete occupation of their country, the damage was done and Bulgaria surrendered, eliminating one of Germany’s allies. Bulgaria only lost one major battle in the entire war, and yet for the second time in six years a war they started to gain territory ended with them losing land and power—the one-sided Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine is known in Bulgaria as the Second National Catastrophe.

#6 The Battle of El Herri El Herri was one of the worst French defeats in World War I, although it technically wasn’t even part of that conflict. It was the opening shot of the 1914-1921 Zaian War, where France and Moroccan loyalists fought to defend their colony in Morocco from a confederation of native Zaian rebels opposed to French rule. But, like everything else in the world, the Great War complicated matters. Most of France’s forces in Morocco were pulled away to fight in Europe, and the commander of the garrison, Lieutenant-Colonel René Laverdure, was ordered to not take any offensive action. French command felt they could resolve the situation peacefully, and that may very well have been the case had Laverdure not disobeyed orders. Frustrated by a lack of action, he led an attack on a Zaian encampment. The attack itself went well, but as they were returning Laverdure’s force was attacked and routed. Over 600 men, including Laverdure himself, were killed in one of the worst defeats in French colonial history. French command was shocked to learn that over half of their garrison had been wiped out by what they saw as inferior tribesmen, and it was a grim note for them to begin World War I on. To further fuel the fire, the Central Powers funded the Zaian rebels in the hopes of forcing the French to re-deploy men and material to Africa. While the French would still eventually win the Zaian War, El Herri is considered a historic victory against oppression in Morocco, and the battle inspired those who continued to fight for Morocco’s eventual independence.

#7 The Battle of Beringia Today we all know Darfur as a region of Sudan, but from 1603 to 1874 it was an independent state called the Sultanate of Darfur. What happened after 1874 is complicated, but the gist of it is that the Sultanate was allowed to maintain some independence in exchange for a yearly tribute to Britain. It was essentially a glorified British colony, but in 1915 British installed Sultan Ali Dinar was growing uncooperative. Fearing that he was negotiating with the Ottoman Empire, the British launched a pre-emptive invasion of Darfur in March of 1916. While the conflict lasted until November, where it ended in Dinar’s death, the decisive battle was fought at Beringia in May. A pair of attempted Fur Army ambushes over two days both ended in defeat and heavy causalities, forcing them to retreat into the mountains where they never again formed an effective fighting force. After the rebellion was quashed the British made the formerly independent state of Darfur part of Sudan, a nearly century old act whose repercussions can still be seen today in the on-going War in Darfur. Beringia serves as a stark reminder of the complicated morality of the Great War. The British came to the aid of their invaded allies at the same time they were brutally suppressing uprisings against their colonial rule, arguably making them both heroes and villains in the same conflict.

#8 The Battle of Galicia One of the most influential battles of the war actually took place in its opening months. Galicia, which was essentially a series of large battles between Austria-Hungry and Russia, saw the Austro-Hungarians invade and initially make gains before rapidly being beaten back by the Russians. Over two million soldiers fought at Galicia, and there were over half a million causalities in the brutal conflict. While the situation on the Eastern Front evolved significantly over the years, most notably thanks to the Russian Revolution, Galicia was nevertheless a crushing defeat for Austria-Hungry that led to the equally damaging Siege of Przemysl. Together with their initially disastrous Serbian Campaign, these defeats crippled the Austro-Hungarian army. The Empire would never fully recover from its high causalities, particularly among its officer corps, and morale plummeted. What they had hoped would be their best shot at a quick knockout blow instead guaranteed them years of slogging, ineffectual warfare. This forced their German allies to take resources away from their massive fight on the Western Front and fight a two-front war they weren’t expecting, one of many complications that led to the eventual defeat of the Central Powers. Austro-Hungarian territorial losses in the face of Russian advances were also the first step towards the re-establishment of Poland as an independent state.

#9 The Battle of Tampere The Russian Revolution threw the entire war into chaos. One little known effect is that their civil war caused another—with the Czar gone it was no longer clear who ruled Finland, and the country plunged into a conflict that mirrored the one being fought in Russia. While both the conservative Whites and the socialist Reds agreed on Finnish independence, they disagreed passionately on how the newly independent country would be run. The three month war is infamous for its cruelty, with both sides making use of terror tactics. The penultimate battle was fought in the city of Tampere, one of the Reds’ two major strongholds. The urban fighting was slow-going and amateurish, but despite heavy causalities as they moved through the city the Whites were able to force a Red retreat. From that point on the Reds were constantly on the defensive. Much like how the Allies intervened in Russia on behalf of the anti-communist White forces, so too did Germany take the side of the Whites in Finland. This intervention, which came just months before Germany lost their own war, gave the Whites a significant military advantage that they would never relinquish. Red supporters who couldn’t escape to Russia ended up in prison camps, where mortality rates were staggeringly high. Finland had gained its independence, but it came at the cost of nearly 37,000 deaths.

#10 The Battle of Sardarabad It’s easy to dismiss World War I as a pointless conflict, but Armenians fighting for their very survival against the genocidal Ottoman Empire would probably disagree with that assessment. As many as 1.5 million Armenians were exterminated by the Ottomans, but total defeat was staved off at Sardarabad. The battle came near the end of the Caucasus Campaign, a muddled and complex theater where a Russian advance on the disorganized Ottomans was stopped by the Russian Revolution. With the withdrawal of their strongest allies, the Armenians were suddenly in a disastrous position. The Ottomans made rapid advances, leaving the Armenians with literally no room to retreat. Finally, over the course of nine days near Sardarabad, a numerically inferior force made up of soldiers, guerrilla fighters and inexperienced civilians held off the Ottoman advance and forced their opponents back. While the Armenians were still in a precarious position, victory at Sardarabad bought them survival until the end of the war and the Ottoman Empire’s subsequent collapse. It’s hard to overstate the importance of this conflict, with historian Christopher J. Walker noting that had the result gone the other way, “it is perfectly possible that the word Armenia would have henceforth denoted only an antique geographical term.”

Source: TopTenz

[rtwdetroit-blog]

My Jewish Experience

My Jewish Experience

by Ellie Farber

Last night, Repair the World was fortunate enough to host and co-partner an event called “Inside Jewish Europe: Stories from Berlin to Bulgaria.” Following suit with a thread we have been weaving the past two months, the event focused on the theme of story-telling. Attendees had the opportunity to hear the stories of the Jewish experience from the point-of-view of two women living on European soil. As a Jewish studies major, I knew I would be engaged and interested due to my previous in-depth studies of European Jewry. However, I was not expecting to draw so many connections to my own Jewish identity, considering the stark contrast of the upbringing of our storytellers with my own.

Anja Olejnik was born in Bosnia, and was a young girl when the fall of Communism and division of Yugoslavia occurred. Being born in Communist Bosnia, she or her family did not hold any religious identity. Anja discovered she was Jewish when she was 11 years old.

Maia Ferdman was born in Los Angeles, California, immersed in her Judaism. In 2015, began a fellowship year where she would be living in three places around the world, one of which was Sofia, Bulgaria, where she was to develop and strengthen the international Jewish community via multiple mediums. What she established from her work in these communities was that “European Jews have to work for their Judaism.”

Ellie Farber was born in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. (Hey, Ellie Farber???…that’s me!!!!) Okay, okay, I wasn’t a story-teller at the event. But! When I was listening to the experiences of these two women, I felt my the story of my Jewish identity was connected to both for various reasons. What I did not necessarily discover throughout the event, but confirmed, was that I have greatly worked for my Judaism.

I grew up in one of the most historically known anti-Semitic towns in Michigan. We had eight Christmas trees, a Mezuzah and a Seder plate. I always knew we were a little bit different; we did not belong to a church, my dad’s parents came over for Christmas occasionally - but never made the trek for Easter. I had heard the word Jewish, but I always thought it was kind of a choice, (like joining a group!), that because my dad is from New Jersey, he sometimes did Jewish things. I did not associate Judaism with an identity, let alone a religion! It was just something that was there, a word thrown around, and it was kind of a secret.

In the first grade, my family went to Baltimore where I met my dad’s sister and her children. My cousin, Lia, was having her Bat Mitzvah. It was here I discovered being Jewish wasn’t just something in which my dad sometimes participated as a result of geography, but was a religion and culture…and he was part of all of it! While he isn’t religious (and never really has been), he is 100% Jewish by blood. I was fascinated. All of these people knew prayers and dances and were bonded like super glue because a 13-year-old was having a fabulous party. This was something I never experienced in my life. All I knew was that I wanted in.

I returned to Michigan feeling overwhelmingly excited that I was Jewish! Not only was I enthusiastic to be Jewish though, I was thrilled that I was finally something. Christianity was intimidating and I had aways felt excluded. With the Jewish community it was more than being just welcomed in, but welcomed back. Almost as if they were saying..."Oy vey Ellie Farber, where have you been all this time?!"

Fast forward 17 years. I work for a Jewish non-profit. I majored in Judaic studies at the University of Michigan. I date a Jewish boy, (who lives in Moishe House, nonetheless)! I have been to Israel four times, two of which were for entire summers. I read, write and speak Hebrew. I teach Hebrew at Temple Shir Shalom. I don’t even attend Shir Shalom though, I am a member at Temple Israel! My life, my identity, is centered around this intangible thing, this thing which wasn’t handed to me, it wasn’t forced upon me. I chose Judaism. I always had it in me, but I worked for my Judaism. I reached out to a community and the community welcomed me with open arms and of course, many opinions.

What is to come? Meh, who knows! What is known, however, is that being Jewish isn’t going anywhere for me. Because I chose this path, I feel I sometimes connect more strongly than those born into it. And also because of this, I am so conscious to never take for granted Judiasm. This culture and community comprises so much of life and identity as a person today, I could not imagine my life without a Jewish presence.

Sources:

http://higley1000.com/archives/50

[dailyaudiobible]

05/03/2017 DAB Transcript

Judges 17:1-18:31 ~ John 3:1-21 ~ Psalm 104:1-23 ~ Proverbs 14:20-21

Today is the 3rd day of May.  Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible.  I'm Brian.  It’s great to be here with you today and now we’ll take our next step forward through the scriptures, which finds us moving our way through the book of Judges and we’ve got a few more days before we will complete the book of Judges.  Let's dive in for today.  We’re reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible this week, and we’ll read Judges chapter 17, verse 1 through 18:31 today.  

Commentary:

Okay, so we see how the tribe of Dan gets a city after its own name today in the book of Judges.  They’ve been embedded in other tribes, but they went to explore in the north and conquered the city of Laish and made it the city of Dan.  It's ruins exist right now, until today.  In fact, it is one of the only places where archeological evidence referring to the Davidic kingdom and that dynasty of the kings has been found. It’s a fascinating place and some of its ruins date way before Israel, back into Canaanite times, and now it is one of the places we’ll visit next time that we go, which is in February and you can find out about that at www.DailyAudioBible.com.  Just look for Israel 2018 and click the link and you’ll get more information.

Prayer

Father, we thank you for your word, for its roots in history, but the way that it speaks and opens up our hearts, the way that the stories unpack before us and we see ourselves in them.  And even as we’ve come to probably the most quoted, famous of all scriptures in John today, that you loved this world so much that you gave your Son so that those who believe will not perish but will have eternal life, that one verse summarizes the good news.  But it also goes on to describe the condition that we find the world still in, that you came to bring the light and we fought to keep the dark rather than to have the freedom of the light that you offer and this battle rages on.  The battle rages on for the heart of this species called humanity that you created in your own image.  So we invite you, Holy Spirit, into the dark places.  That is where we need the light and so we invite you to begin the work in us, the reminding us and the counsel that you offer us, the direction and the truth that you lead us into.  We want all of that.  So we invite it.  We invite it into everything about us today.  Come Holy Spirit, we pray in Jesus’ name, amen.    

Announcements

Www.DailyAudioBible.com is the website.  It's home base.  It's where you find out what is going on.  So we talked about the fact that we’re going to go back to the land of the Bible, so you can check that out at www.DailyAudioBible.com.  

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at www.DailyAudioBible.com as well. There is a link that just lives on the home page.  Thank you, thank you, thank you for your partnership.  If you’re using the app, you can press the More button in the lower right-hand corner.  Or if you prefer, the mailing address is P.O. Box 1996, Spring Hill, TN 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or comment, (877) 942-4253 is the number to dial.

And that is it for today.  I'm Brian. I love you and I will be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports

I wanted to speak to the executive who had called from Silicon Valley and I heard the prayer request on the April 30th prayer line. She is single and it sounds as if she is experiencing some challenges being in her position and what to do around that with her singleness and just the loneliness and having been successful at work and yet she is divorced.  I just want you to know that God has you in the palm of his hand.  He is working in you, giving you a desire to come into a deeper relationship with him.  And Heavenly Father, I pray that you would just give to her great peace, that you would show her what it is you that you have meant for her to do to draw into a closer relationship with you.  Holy Spirit, open her eyes, her heart and her head to know that you will bring people into her life to be a blessing and to walk with her during this journey.  You are not alone.  There are many of us out there in similar situations.  God has become the delight of our lives in ways that are unexpected and I anticipate he will do the same for you.  We will continue to pray.  We will continue to support you during this journey.  God bless.  In the name of Jesus, amen.  

Well, hey there DAB friends and family.  This is Rob S., Worship Dude in Nashville, TN.  I just want to say thanks to everybody who keeps listening after the Bible reading to the prayer requests and prays for people.  So appreciated.  I listen and pray for you guys.  Anyway, I have a prayer request.  My wife and I are going to be going on a massive missions trip the whole month of May. We fly out May 1st, get back May 30th to Eastern Europe, so we’ll be teaching about worship and discipleship and such in Ukraine and Bulgaria and Hungary and then we’ll be traveling different connections there in Europe.  In France and Italy also to make the connection.  So anyway, would really, really, really appreciate your prayers and I’ll try to keep you guys updated.  Hey, if you want to reach out to me or contact me in any way, I'm on the Facebook Group a lot but also my email is Rob@RobStill.com.  God bless you guys.  Thanks for praying.    

Hey, good morning family.  This is Dan in New Hampshire.  I actually wanted to reach out to someone specific.  I'm going to go back and listen, but I didn’t get your name.  The mother praying for her son in Aviano Air Base. I just want to let you know I'm a veteran of the Air Force.  I’ve only been out for a couple years now, but I do know all too well the temptations and the trials of being overseas and being away from family and also trying to walk out your faith.  I couldn’t hear everything, but I just really felt compelled to call and to pray for your son and just lift him up.  Dear Lord Jesus, we just pray for this situation.  I know that you know his heart and know the calling that he has and that you have on his life and that is a destiny of greatness and a calling to do great things.  We pray that your hand would be upon him, guide his heart, turn it back to you, Lord. I know that there is the overwhelming need to want to fit in, especially in the military where you need to be tightknit and close and sometimes just pursuing Jesus, there is not a lot there, not everyone wants to pursue Jesus.  I pray that you would break his heart, that he would fall in love with you and that you are the ultimate gift-giver, the giver of life and that you show him what true sacrifice means.  So I lift him up to you and I lift up his mother as well, that she would be filled with peace.  In Jesus’ name, amen.  

Good morning DAB family.  This is Dave in Illinois. This is my first year going through the Bible with this community and my first time calling, but I was encouraged by Brian yesterday when he asked us to call or he encouraged us to call if there was something that we are carrying that is too heavy for us right now.  So with that in mind, I'm calling to ask for prayers for our 4-year-old daughter, Bella Grace, and her kidney surgery this Wednesday morning May 3rd.  She has been battling kidney disease for about 2-1/2 years.  Over that time we’ve taken her to multiple doctors, had numerous invasive procedures and ER visits and in fact during her most recent ER visit, because of a kidney infection, her temperature was over 104 degrees three different times.  We got close to losing her, but God healed her of the kidney infection.  So she has surgery scheduled for Wednesday morning, May 3rd to hopefully resolve the underlying issues causing her kidney disease.  We ask you to please join us in praying that this surgery will be successful to bring full healing to her kidneys.  As we pray, we have two scriptures that we’ve been praying through.  1 Philippians 4, that we would be faithful to bring our anxieties to God in prayer and somehow he trade them for his peace that passes all understanding.  And like Jesus says in John 9, we may not know why Bella was born with this kidney disease, but we are praying that the works of God might be displayed in her through this, that somehow by God's grace and for his glory he will be honored and exalted through all of this.  I thank you all for your prayers.  I'm grateful for this family and the fellowship with other Jesus followers.  I love you all.  God bless.

Hi family.  I am one of those people who is an introvert and I don’t like calling in, but I feel a very strong urge to call in today after listening to April 29th, the prayer line.  Brothers and sisters, if you have a dispute with one another, just remember to love one another. Remember not to hold things against each other and if you have to shake the dust off your feet where you feel like you have to walk away from some kind of Christian relationship, don’t do so out of spite. Do so out of grief and remember that Jesus loves all of us and that the person who hurt you is working through their own issues too and we’re all sinners and we’re all messed up.  But thanks to God for his grace.  Whatever hate is out there in the community, if somebody has been hurt and they feel the need to lash out, don’t reciprocate.  Just love that individual.  Whoever you are, we are glad you’re here.  We’re glad those who don’t call in, who listen, we love each and every one of you, issues and all, and we’re so glad you’re part of this community.  I thought about leaving my name here.  No, I’m not going to leave my name.  God knows who I am.  Love you all and I love this community.  Take care.